We are pleased to announce Professor Michael Burkart at the University of California, San Diego, in the US, as the winner of the 2010 OBC Lecture Award.

Professor Burkart was selected by the judges in recognition of his international reputation and contribution to the fields of natural products and biosynthesis.

Professor Burkart's lecture will be given at the 'Directing Biosynthesis 2010: Discovery, Evolution, Function' conference to be held at Durham University, UK, from the 15^th - 17^th September 2010. Details of the conference are available below. The lecture will focus on his recent studies of enzyme identities, mechanisms and structures.

'The greatest reward of these efforts has been to find our tools useful to others', says Professor Burkart. 'This is born out by our ongoing collaborations and by the adoption of our tools by contemporary research groups. This recognition is a testament to the creativity and discipline practiced by my laboratory colleagues, and I would like to thank them. My thanks also go to OBC for supporting our research publications since its inception. OBC has served as an outstanding venue to publish our interdisciplinary, and sometimes unconventional, projects'.  

The award is given to chemists who have made a significant research contribution to organic or bioorganic chemistry, and ideally who have had an independent research career of between 8 and 15 years. The call for nominations triggered a great response from the organic and bioorganic community, with the winner being selected from all the nominees by a panel of judges.