AURORA, CO, November 15, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Robert S. Hodges with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Dr. Hodges celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
The son of Bert and Frances Hodges, Dr. Hodges was born on December 30, 1943, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. He earned a BS in biochemistry with honors in 1965 at the University of Saskatchewan. From 1965 to 1967 he was a research scientific service officer with the Department of National Defense of Canada. In 1971, Dr. Hodges graduated from the University of Alberta with a Ph.D. in biochemistry, and became a postdoctoral fellow and research associate at Rockefeller University with Dr. Bruce Merrifield. In 2001, the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center hired Dr. Hodges to his current roles as a professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics, director of the Program in Biomolecular Structure, and John Stewart Endowed Chair in Peptide Chemistry.
In 1974, Dr. Hodges joined the Medical Research Council Group in Protein Structure and Function and the University of Alberta as an assistant professor, becoming associate professor in 1977 and professor in 1984. Dr. Hodges married Phyllis Hodges in 1978 and raised four children together, Sherylynn, Clinton, Paul and Darcy. Between 1985 and 2002 Dr. Hodges was the director of the Alberta Peptide Institute and President and CEO of Synthetic Peptides, Inc., between 1986 and 1994, the year he became network leader of the Canadian Protein Engineering Network of Centers of Excellence. He worked with outstanding researchers from across Canada on research projects that bridged the gap between academia and industry until 2000.
Dr. Hodges was a celebrated athlete in several Olympic Games. In 1968, he competed in speed skating at the Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. He also competed in the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, and three World Championships in speed skating in 1968, 1970 and 1971. After retiring as an athlete, Dr. Hodges continued to contribute to the games as the manager of the Canadian speed skating team for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. In 1988, he was the Vice-Chairman and Chief of Competition for speed skating for the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Dr. Hodges has contributed to his field as an author of several titles, including "Calmodulin Antagonists and Cellular Physiology" in 1985, "HPLC of Biological Macromolecules: Methods and Applications" and "Computer-Assisted Method Development for High-Performance Liquid Chromatography" in 1990, and "HPLC of Proteins, Peptides and Polynucleotides" and "High Performance Liquid Chromatography of Peptides and Proteins: Separation, Analysis and Conformation" in 1991. He worked as an editor for "Peptide Research" and "Chemistry Structure and Biology" and was on the editorial advisory boards of Protein and Peptides Letters, Journal of Peptide Science, Journal of Molecular Recognition, Biomedical Peptides, Proteins and Nucleic Acids. He has used peptide chemistry in a creative and innovative manner in biomedical research, with over 401 refereed journal publications, 70 invited review articles, book chapters and books, 94 refereed proceedings of scientific conferences and 73 patents or patent applications to his name.
As a biochemist and biotechnologist, Dr. Hodges is a member of numerous organizations, including the Protein Society, the New York Academy of Science, the American Peptide Society and the Royal Society of Canada. As a student, he was the recipient of a honors scholarship at the University of Saskatchewan in 1964, the Medical Research Council studentship from 1969 to 1971, and a postdoctoral fellowship from the Medical Research Council of Canada in 1971-1973. In 1986, the government of Alberta awarded Dr. Hodges, Special Recognition for Contributions to Biotechnology. In 1994, he received the Alberta Science and Technology award and Distinguished MRC Scientist award. As a member of the Canadian Biochemical Society, he was the recipient of the Boehringer-Mannheim Canadian prize in 1995, the year Dr. Hodges became the President of the American Peptide Society. He won the 2002 Vincent Du Vigneaud award for outstanding achievements in peptide research and the 2013 Murray Goodman Scientific Excellence and Mentorship Award, both from the American Peptide Society. In 2016, the Royal Society of Canada appointed Dr. Hodges as a life member, and in 2017, he won the most prestigious award in peptide science, the Bruce Merrifield award for outstanding lifetime accomplishment in peptide research recognizing the highest level of scientific creativity, presented at the 25th American Peptide Symposium in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.
In 2016, Dr. Hodges started a new company, AMP Discovery, LLC, to commercialize antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as therapeutics developed in his laboratory. He discovered the concept of "specificity determinants" to remove toxicity to human cells, enhance antimicrobial activity, control gram-negative pathogen selectivity and prevent high-affinity binding to serum proteins. Dr. Hodges has appeared in various Marquis Who's Who publications, as well as the 59th, 60th, and 61st editions of Who's Who in America. He also has been featured in the 5th edition of Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare; the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 8th editions of Who's Who in Science and Engineering and the 28th through 32nd editions of Who's Who in the West.
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America , Marquis Who's Who has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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