Egli awarded the Richard Armstrong Professorship of Innovation in Biochemistry

Posted by daviskd2 on Thursday, January 8, 2026 in News.

Martin Egli, professor of biochemistry, has been awarded the Richard Armstrong Professorship of Innovation in Biochemistry. “Martin is an internationally recognized scholar and highly deserving of this honor,” said Biochemistry Department Chair David Cortez.

Dr. Egli earned his undergraduate and doctoral degrees in Chemistry from ETH Zurich and completed postdoctoral training at MIT in the Alexander Rich lab, becoming a world expert in x‑ray crystallography of nucleic acids and protein–nucleic acid complexes. He joined Vanderbilt as an assistant professor in 1995 and became professor of biochemistry in 2005.

Dr. Egli’s research spans the structures and functions of nucleic acids and their therapeutic applications, with over 300 publications that have garnered more than 13,000 citations. His landmark contributions include stabilizing RNAs for therapeutic delivery, elucidating how DNA polymerases process damaged DNA, and defining mechanisms of RNA‑modifying enzymes; he ranks in the top 0.05% of scholars worldwide per 2024 ScholarGPS.

In addition to his research, he co–edited the definitive 2022 volume Nucleic Acids in Chemistry and Biology and authored a 2012 book on artificial nucleic acids—works that underpin advances such as mRNA vaccines and siRNA therapeutics. His honors include election as an AAAS Fellow (2006), the Alexander Rich Award Lecture (2013), and election to the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (2023). He has served the Biochemistry department and university through faculty searches, mentoring and awards committees, the School of Medicine’s FAPC, and as Scientific Director of the CSB X‑ray crystallography facility. A dedicated educator, he co-leads the Biochemistry scientific communications course and teaches nucleic acid chemistry and advanced crystallography.

“I think it is fitting that Martin is receiving this recognition,” Cortez said in his announcement. “He exemplifies so many of the same scholarly qualities as Richard.”

The Richard Armstrong Professorship is named for the late Dr. Richard Armstrong, Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry at Vanderbilt University and the Foreign Adjunct Professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.  Dr. Armstrong was a highly valued member of the Biochemistry department. His research focused on how enzymes detoxify foreign molecules through a multipronged chemical, structural, and molecular approach. As an editor of the journal Biochemistry, Armstrong fostered the dissemination of scientific knowledge. His work as a teacher, scholar, and advisor were instrumental in expertly guiding students through the rigors of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He emphasized fundamentals through his numerous lectures and selflessly served the Biochemistry community through teaching, committee membership, grant reviews, and participation in professional societies.