Sydney Brenner is a distinguished professor at the Salk Institute and one of the past century’s leading pioneers in genetics and molecular biology. Among his many notable discoveries, Brenner established the existence of messenger RNA and demonstrated how the order of amino acids in proteins is determined. He also conducted pioneering work with the roundworm, a model organism now widely used to study genetics. His research with Caenorhabditis elegans garnered insights into aging, nerve cell function and apoptosis. Brenner is the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and The Albert Lasker Medical Research Award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences. Brenner earned his Ph.D. in chemistry at Oxford University, England. He has been an advisor to Mr. Snyder’s companies since 1982.