Profile of Benjamin Cravatt

Abstract

Bridging the fields of chemistry and biology, Benjamin Cravatt and his research group have developed and applied technologies to discover biochemical pathways in mammalian biology and disease. Cravatt, who was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2014 and is chair of the Department of Chemical Physiology at The Scripps Research Institute, pioneered an approach to identify protein classes based on their activity. Since the introduction of the approach in 1999, Cravatt’s group has used this and related chemical proteomic technologies to conduct global analyses of protein activities and to elucidate the functions of several enzymes, including those linked to human cancers, neurological disorders, and the endocannabinoid system, which consists of lipid transmitters involved in appetite, pain sensation, mood, memory, and other physiological processes. Benjamin Cravatt. Image courtesy of TSRI BioMedical Graphics. From the outset, Cravatt was inspired to think about biology by his dentist father and dental hygienist mother. He also credits his high school mathematics teachers for nurturing his interest in the quantitative sciences. “These individuals made subjects like calculus interesting and relatable to the young mind,” Cravatt says. “They also challenged me to extend beyond my comfort zone in my education, which helped me gain confidence in my abilities.” In 1988, Cravatt entered Stanford University with the aim of studying medicine. That goal began to change, however, when he studied under chemist John Griffin, now the chief scientific officer of the biotech company Numerate. Cravatt explains, “I had a great undergraduate research experience in John Griffin’s lab, and this certainly set me on a trajectory to pursue research at the interface of biology and chemistry.” Cravatt graduated in 1992 with …