Jacqueline Barton

Jacqueline Barton's research demonstrated that DNA mediates long-range charge transport through its π-stacked base pairs, functioning essentially like a molecular wire. This finding revealed a previously unknown electronic property of DNA and suggested possible biological roles for charge transport in processes such as DNA damage detection and repair.

Jacqueline Barton is the Arthur and Marian Hanisch Memorial Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). She has been on the Caltech faculty since 1989, where she has built one of the leading research groups studying DNA charge transport.

DNA-mediated charge transport refers to the ability of electrons to migrate through the stacked π-orbitals of DNA base pairs over long molecular distances. Barton's group showed that this process can serve as a signaling mechanism, potentially allowing DNA-binding proteins to communicate electronically and detect lesions along the DNA duplex.

Barton has received numerous honors, including a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and the National Medal of Science. She has also been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.