Carolyn Bertozzi: Difference between revisions

| education = {{ubl|[[Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|ABBA]])|[[University of California, Berkeley]] ([[Master of Science|MS]], [[PhD]])}}

| awards = {{ubl|[[MacArthur Foundation Fellowship]] (1999)|[[ACS Award in Pure Chemistry]] (2001)|[[Lemelson-MITLemelson–MIT Prize]] (2010)|[[Heinrich Wieland Prize]] (2012)|[[Wolf Prize]] (2022)|[[Dickson Prize]] (2022)|[[Welch Award in Chemistry]] (2022)|[[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] (2022)}}

| child = yes

| fields = [[Chemistry]]

| workplaces = {{ubl|[[Stanford University]]|[[University of California, Berkeley]]|[[Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]]|[[University of California, San Francisco]]}}

| doctoral_advisor = Mark D. Bednarski

| thesis_title = Synthesis and biological activity of carbon-linked glycosides

| thesis_url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/304068526/

| thesis_year = 1993

| doctoral_students = {{Plainlist|

{{external media | width = 210px | alignfloat = right | headerimage= |video1= [https://www.ted.com/talks/carolyn_bertozzi_what_the_sugar_coating_on_your_cells_is_trying_to_tell_you "What the sugar coating on your cells is trying to tell you"], TEDx Stanford |video2= [https://www.aaas.org/news/carolyn-r-bertozzi-wins-2022-aaas-lifetime-mentor-award?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D83613660772200808932157120907812278803%7CMCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1667060068 "Carolyn R. Bertozzi Wins 2022 AAAS Lifetime Mentor Award"], AAAS, 10 February 2022 }}

'''Carolyn Ruth Bertozzi''' (born October 10, 1966) is an American [[chemist]] and [[Nobel Laureate in Chemistry|Nobel laureate]], known for her wide-ranging work spanning both chemistry and biology. She coined the term "[[bioorthogonal chemistry]]"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hhmi.org/scientists/carolyn-r-bertozzi|title=Carolyn R. Bertozzi|website=HHMI.org|language=en|access-date=February 5, 2020}}</ref> for chemical reactions compatible with living systems. Her recent efforts include synthesis of chemical tools to study cell surface sugars called glycans and how they affect diseases such as cancer, inflammation, and viral infections like [[COVID-19]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Carolyn Bertozzi {{!}} Department of Chemistry |url=https://chemistry.stanford.edu/people/carolyn-bertozzi |access-date=March 16, 2022 |website=chemistry.stanford.edu}}</ref> At [[Stanford University]], she holds the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professorship in the School of Humanities and Sciences.<ref name=Adams>{{cite news|last1=Adams|first1=Amy|title=Stanford chemist explains excitement of chemistry to students, the public|url=http://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/june/chemistry-bertozzi-qna-060515.html|accessdate=July 19, 2015|agency=Stanford News}}</ref> Bertozzi is also an Investigator at the [[Howard Hughes Medical Institute]] (HHMI)<ref name="GLBT">{{cite news|title=Carolyn Bertozzi honored by GLBT organization|url=http://berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/2007/02/21_awards.shtml|accessdate=February 8, 2013|newspaper=UC Berkeley News|date=February 27, 2007}}</ref> and is the former Directordirector of the [[Molecular Foundry]], a [[nanoscience]] research center at [[Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]].<ref name="HHMI Bio" />

She received the [[MacArthur Fellowship|MacArthur "genius" award]] at age 33.<ref>{{cite web|title=Carolyn Bertozzi, Organic Chemist|url=http://www.macfound.org/fellows/600/|website=MacArthur Foundation|accessdate=February 3, 2015}}</ref> In 2010, she was the first woman to receive the prestigious [[Lemelson-MITLemelson–MIT Prize]] faculty award. She is a member of the [[National Academy of Sciences]] (2005), the [[Institute of Medicine]] (2011), and the [[National Academy of Inventors]] (2013). In 2014, it was announced that Bertozzi would lead ''[[ACS Central Science]]'', the [[American Chemical Society]]'s first peer-reviewed [[open access journal]], which offers all content free to the public.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Carolyn Bertozzi To Lead ACS Central Science {{!}} Chemical & Engineering News|url = http://cen.acs.org/articles/92/web/2014/09/Carolyn-Bertozzi-Lead-ACS-Central.html|website = cen.acs.org|accessdate = August 19, 2015|first = Linda|last = Wang}}</ref> Since 2021 she has been a member of the [[Accademia dei Lincei]].<ref>.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lincei.it/en/node/9765|title=Alla lincea Carolyn Bertozzi uno dei Nobel per la Chimica 2022 |trans-title=Carolyn Bertozzi one of the 2022 Nobel Prize winners in Chemistry |publisher=Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei |website=www.lincei.it |language=it |access-date=October 7, 2022}}</ref>

Carolyn Bertozzi received her A.B.A., ''[[summa cum laude]]'', in [[chemistry]] from [[Harvard University]], where she worked with Professor Joe Grabowski on the design and construction of a photoacoustic calorimeter.<ref>{{cite journal |pages=214–26 |doi=10.1016/0003-2697(92)90003-P |title=Fluorescence probes in biochemistry: An examination of the non-fluorescent behavior of dansylamide by photoacoustic calorimetry |year=1992 |last1=Grabowski |first1=Joseph J. |journal=[[Analytical Biochemistry]] |volume=207 |issue=2 |pmid=1481973 |last2=Bertozzi |first2=Carolyn R. |last3=Jacobsen |first3=John R. |last4=Jain |first4=Ahamindra |last5=Marzluff |first5=Elaine M. |last6=Suh |first6=Annie Y.}}</ref> Grabowski was impressed with her work and required Bertozzi to write a thesis on this project, which was submitted and Bertozzi won the [[Thomas T. Hoopes Prize|Thomas T. Hoopes Undergraduate Thesis Prize]] with a large prize money.<ref name=":6" /> While an undergraduate, she played in several bands, notably Bored of Education with future [[Rage Against the Machine]] guitarist [[Tom Morello]].<ref name="NIGMS Bio">{{cite web |title=Meet Carolyn Bertozzi |url=http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/chemhealth/chemist_bertozzi.htm |publisher=NIGMS |accessdate=February 8, 2013 |archive-date=October 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005223521/https://publications.nigms.nih.gov/chemhealth/chemist_bertozzi.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Houlton |first=Sarah |date=January 12, 2018 |title=Carolyn Bertozzi |url=https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/carolyn-bertozzi/3008380.article |access-date=October 7, 2020 |website=Chemistry World |publisher=[[Royal Society of Chemistry]]}}</ref> After graduating from Harvard in 1988, she worked at [[Bell Labs]] with Chris Chidsey.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://inchemistry.acs.org/content/inchemistry/en/acs-and-you/carolyn-bertozzi.html |title=Carolyn Bertozzi' s Winding Road to an Extraordinary Career |work=inChemistry |access-date=February 17, 2020 |first=Eric |last=Stewart |date=March 27, 2017 |publisher=[[American Chemical Society]]}}</ref>

Bertozzi completed her Ph.D. in chemistry at [[University of California, Berkeley]] in 1993 with Mark Bednarski, working on the [[chemical synthesis]] of [[oligosaccharide]] analogs.<ref>{{cite thesis |title=Synthesis and biological activity of carbon-linked glycosides |last=Bertozzi |first=Carolyn Ruth|institution=[[University of California, Berkeley]] |degree=Ph.D. |id={{ProQuest|304068526}} |oclc=30660316}}</ref><ref name=Infectious>{{cite journal |title=Bertozzi: Infectious In Her Enthusiasm |journal=[[Chemical & Engineering News]] |date=January 31, 2000 |volume=78 |issue=5 |pages=26–35}}</ref> While at Berkeley, she discovered that viruses can bind to sugars in the body.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://lemelson.mit.edu/winners/carolyn-bertozzi|title=Carolyn Bertozzi {{!}} Lemelson-MITLemelson–MIT Program|website=lemelson.mit.edu|access-date=February 5, 2020|archive-date=August 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810095535/https://lemelson.mit.edu/winners/carolyn-bertozzi|url-status=dead}}</ref> The discovery led to her field of research, [[glycobiology]]. During Bertozzi's third year of graduate school, Bednarski was diagnosed with colon cancer, which resulted in him taking a leave of absence and changing his career path by enrolling in medical school. This left Bertozzi and the rest of the lab to complete their Ph.D. work with no direct supervision.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Azvolunsky |first=Anna |date=May 31, 2016 |title=Carolyn Bertozzi: Glycan Chemist |url=https://www.the-scientist.com/profile/carolyn-bertozzi-glycan-chemist-33453 |access-date=October 7, 2020 |magazine=[[The Scientist (magazine)|The Scientist]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Baker |first1=Mitzi |title=Bednarski, pioneer of new cancer therapies, dies at 47 |url=https://news.stanford.edu/news/2006/march22/med-obit-032206.html |access-date=15 October 2022 |work=[[Stanford University]] |date=22 March 2006 |language=en}}</ref>

After graduating from Berkeley with a Ph.D., Bertozzi was a [[postdoctoral]] [[fellow]] at [[University of California, San Francisco]] (UCSF) with Steven Rosen, where she studied the activity of [[endothelial]] oligosaccharides in promoting cell adhesion at [[inflammation]] sites.<ref name="Davis">{{cite journal |last1=Davis|first1=T.|title=Profile of Carolyn Bertozzi|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|date=February 16, 2010 |volume=107 |issue=7|pages=2737–2739|doi=10.1073/pnas.0914469107 |pmid=20160128|pmc=2840349|bibcode=2010PNAS..107.2737D|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Gardiner">{{cite journal|last1=Gardiner|first1=Mary Beth|title=The Right Chemistry |journal=HHMI Bulletin|date=Winter 2005 |pages=8–12 |url=https://www.hhmi.org/sites/default/files/Bulletin/2005/Winter/winter2005_fulltext.pdf|accessdate=October 24, 2015}}</ref> While working with Rosen at UCSF, Bertozzi was able to modify the protein and sugar molecules in the walls of living cells so that the cells accept foreign materials such as implants.<ref name="CHFBio">{{cite web|url=http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in-history/themes/biomolecules/proteins-and-sugars/bertozzi.aspx |title=Carolyn Bertozzi|website=Chemical Heritage Foundation |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712164415/http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in-history/themes/biomolecules/proteins-and-sugars/bertozzi.aspx}}</ref>

In 1996 Bertozzi became a faculty member in the [[UC Berkeley College of Chemistry]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sanders |first1=Robert |title=Chemistry Nobelist Carolyn Bertozzi's years at UC Berkeley |url=https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/10/05/chemistry-nobelist-carolyn-bertozzis-years-at-uc-berkeley/ |access-date=15 October 2022 |work=Berkeley News |date=5 October 2022}}</ref> and a faculty scientist at [[Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]], where she served as the Directordirector of the [[Molecular Foundry]].<ref name="Davis">{{cite journal |last1=Davis|first1=T.|title=Profile of Carolyn Bertozzi|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|date=February 16, 2010 |volume=107 |issue=7|pages=2737–2739|doi=10.1073/pnas.0914469107 |pmid=20160128|pmc=2840349|bibcode=2010PNAS..107.2737D|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2022/10/05/carolyn-bertozzi-wins-2022-nobel-chemistry| title= Former Berkeley Lab Scientist Carolyn Bertozzi Wins 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry| access-date=September 7, 2022 }}</ref> She has been an investigator with [[HHMI]] since 2000.<ref name="HHMI Bio">{{cite web |title=Carolyn Bertozzi |url=http://www.hhmi.org/research/investigators/bertozzi_bio.html|publisher=HHMI|accessdate=February 8, 2013|archive-date=May 16, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516204149/http://www.hhmi.org/research/investigators/bertozzi_bio.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1999, while working with HHMI and at Berkeley, she founded the field of [[bioorthogonal chemistry]] and coined the term in 2003.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://cen.acs.org/people/profiles/Carolyn-Bertozzis-glycorevolution/98/i5|title=Carolyn Bertozzi's glycorevolution|website=Chemical & Engineering News|language=en|access-date=February 12, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.invent.org/inductees/carolyn-bertozzi|title=NIHF Inductee Carolyn Bertozzi Invented Bioorthogonal Chemistry |website=www.invent.org |language=en|access-date=February 5, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sletten|first1=Ellen M.|last2=Bertozzi|first2=Carolyn R.|date=September 20, 2011|title=From Mechanism to Mouse: A Tale of Two Bioorthogonal Reactions |journal=Accounts of Chemical Research|volume=44|issue=9|pages=666–676|doi=10.1021/ar200148z|issn=0001-4842|pmc=3184615|pmid=21838330}}</ref> This new field and technique allows researchers to chemically modify molecules in living organisms and not interrupt the processes of the cell.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sletten|first1=Ellen M.|last2=Bertozzi|first2=Carolyn R.|date=2009|title=Bioorthogonal Chemistry: Fishing for Selectivity in a Sea of Functionality|journal=Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English|volume=48|issue=38|pages=6974–6998|doi=10.1002/anie.200900942|issn=1433-7851|pmc=2864149|pmid=19714693}}</ref> In 2015, Bertozzi moved to Stanford University to join the ChEM-H Institute.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bertozzigroup.stanford.edu/bio.htm|title=Carolyn R. Bertozzi|website=bertozzigroup.stanford.edu|access-date=April 13, 2018|archive-date=August 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806163551/https://bertozzigroup.stanford.edu/bio.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2001, Bertozzi and Steve Rosen co-founded '''Thios Pharmaceuticals''' in [[Emeryville, California]], the first company to target [[sulfation]] pathways.<ref name="thios">{{Cite journal|last=McCarthy|first=Alice A.|date=February 2004|title=Thios Pharmaceuticals Targeting Sulfation Pathways|url=https://www.cell.com/cell-chemical-biology/pdf/S1074-5521(04)00040-7.pdf|journal=Chemistry & Biology|volume=11|issue=2|pages=147–148|doi=10.1016/j.chembiol.2004.02.008|pmid=15123271|doi-access=free}}</ref> ThisThios Pharmaceuticals dissolved in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thios Pharmaceuticals {{!}} www.inknowvation.com |url=https://www.inknowvation.com/sbir/companies/thios-pharmaceuticals |access-date=2023-01-27 |website=www.inknowvation.com}}</ref>

In 2008, Bertozzi founded a startup of her own: '''Redwood Bioscience''' also in Emeryville, California.<ref name="McCook">{{cite news|last1=McCook|first1=Alison|title=Women in Biotechnology: Barred from the Boardroom|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/women-in-biotechnology-barred-from-the-boardroom/|accessdate=October 24, 2015|work=Scientific American|date=March 6, 2013}}</ref> Redwood Bioscience is a biotechnology company that uses [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1InC-VR1eNg SMARTag, a site-specific protein modification technology] that allows small drugs to attach to sites on the proteins and can be used to help fight cancers.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://ipira.berkeley.edu/redwood-bioscience-inc|title=Redwood Bioscience Inc. {{!}} IPIRA|website=ipira.berkeley.edu|access-date=February 5, 2020}}</ref> Redwood Bioscience was acquired by [https://biologics.catalent.com/biologics/drug-substance/bioconjugate-development/precision-based-technology/ Catalent Pharma Solutions] in 2014. Bertozzi remains a part of the advisory board for the biologics sector of the company.<ref name=":1" />

Bertozzi became a co-founder of '''Palleon Pharma''' of [[Waltham, Massachusetts]], in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://palleonpharma.com/leadership/|title=Palleon Pharma – Leadership|accessdate=October 5, 2022|archive-date=July 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706121526/https://palleonpharma.com/leadership/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Palleon Pharma focuses on investigating glycoimmune checkpoint inhibitors as a potential treatment for cancer.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Palleon Pharma|url=https://www.massbio.org/members/palleon-pharma/|website=MassBio|language=en-US|access-date=May 28, 2020}}</ref>

She co-founded Grace Science Foundation in 2018. The foundation focuses on curing NGLY1 deficiency through developing therapeutics that are efficient and inexpensive.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/organizations/3586|title=Grace Science Foundation|website=rarediseases.info.nih.gov|access-date=February 12, 2020|archive-date=October 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022170634/https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/organizations/3586|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Bertozzi also previously served on the research advisory board of several pharmaceutical companies including [[GlaxoSmithKline]], and until recently2021 [[Eli Lilly and Company|Eli Lilly]].<ref>{{Cite press release |last=Company |first=Eli Lilly and |title=Lilly Announces that Professor Carolyn Bertozzi has Resigned from its Board of Directors |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lilly-announces-that-professor-carolyn-bertozzi-has-resigned-from-its-board-of-directors-301362134.html |access-date=March 16, 2022 |website=www.prnewswire.com |language=en}}</ref>

*1998 – [[Beckman Young Investigators Award]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Carolyn R. Bertozzi |url=http://www.beckman-foundation.org/beckman-young-investigators/carolyn-r-bertozzi |website=Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation |accessdate=August 1, 2018 |archive-date=August 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802041126/http://www.beckman-foundation.org/beckman-young-investigators/carolyn-r-bertozzi |url-status=dead }}</ref>

*2001 – Fellow of the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]].<ref name="Korte">{{cite news |last1=Korte |first1=Andrea |title=AAAS Fellows Carolyn Bertozzi and K. Barry Sharpless Receive Nobel Prize in Chemistry {{!}} American Association for the Advancement of Science |url=https://www.aaas.org/news/aaas-fellows-carolyn-bertozzi-and-k-barry-sharpless-receive-nobel-prize-chemistry?et_rid=162180701&et_cid=4466269 |access-date=29 October 2022 |work=American Association for the Advancement of Science |date=5 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

*2010 – [[Lemelson-MITLemelson–MIT Prize]]<ref name=lemelson>{{cite web|title=Carolyn Bertozzi 2010 Lemelson-MITLemelson–MIT Prize|url=http://lemelson.mit.edu/winners/carolyn-bertozzi|publisher=MIT|accessdate=May 13, 2014|archive-date=August 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810095535/https://lemelson.mit.edu/winners/carolyn-bertozzi|url-status=dead}}</ref>

*2013 – Hans Bloemendal Award<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www2.rimls.nl/symposia/frontiers-2013/bloemendal-medal/|title=Bloemendal Medal|website=www2.rimls.nl|access-date=September 7, 2019|archive-date=June 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616043303/http://www2.rimls.nl/symposia/frontiers-2013/bloemendal-medal/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

* 2022 - – Lifetime Mentor Award, [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]].<ref name="Jilani">{{cite news |last1=Jilani |first1=Zaid |title=Carolyn R. Bertozzi Wins 2022 AAAS Lifetime Mentor Award {{!}} American Association for the Advancement of Science |url=https://www.aaas.org/news/carolyn-r-bertozzi-wins-2022-aaas-lifetime-mentor-award?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D83613660772200808932157120907812278803%7CMCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1667060068 |access-date=29 October 2022 |work=American Association for the Advancement of Science |date=10 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Korte"/>

*2022 – [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]]<ref name="nobelprize"/>

*2023 -– [[Roger Adams Award]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.organicdivision.org/adamsaward/|title=Roger Adams Award|website=www.organicdivision.org|accessdate=February 28, 2023}}</ref>

Bertozzi grew up in [[Lexington, Massachusetts]], the daughter of the late Norma Gloria (Berringer) and William Bertozzi.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/norma-bertozzi-obituary?id=30733422 | title=NORMA GLORIA BERTOZZI Obituary (2021) Boston Globe | website=[[Legacy.com]] }}</ref> Her father was of [[Italian Americans|Italian descent]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lavocedinewyork.com/en/news/2022/10/05/italian-american-scientist-carolyn-bertozzi-wins-the-nobel-prize-in-chemistry|title=Italian American Scientist Carolyn Bertozzi Wins the Nobel Prize in Chemistry|date=October 5, 2022 }}</ref> Her maternal grandparents were from [[Nova Scotia]], [[Canada]].<ref name=":6">{{cite web | url=https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/3xomins | title=Oral history interview with Carolyn R. Bertozzi }}</ref> She has two sisters, one of whom, [[Andrea Bertozzi]], is on the mathematics faculty at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]].<ref name="UCLA">{{cite web|url=https://www.math.ucla.edu/~bertozzi/|title=UCLA Math Department Faculty|accessdate=June 4, 2012}}</ref> Her father was a physics professor at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/physics/people/faculty/bertozzi_william.html|title=MIT Physics Department Faculty|accessdate=June 4, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|lastname=Davis|first=T.|date=February 16, 2010|title=Profile of Carolyn Bertozzi|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=107|issue=7|pages=2737–2739|doi=10.1073/pnas.0914469107|pmid=20160128|pmc=2840349|issn=0027-8424|bibcode=2010PNAS..107.2737D|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/people/090116/keeping-it-real|title=Keeping it Real|work=ASBMB Today|first=Rajendrani|last=Mukhopadhyay|date=September 1, 2016|accessdate=November 3, 2020}}</ref><!--

Bertozzi and her two sisters grew up around science. Because their father was a physics professor, when asked what she and her sisters wanted to be when they grew up, the answer was unanimous: a nuclear physicist. The three girls would attend MIT camps, as their father dreamt that they would attend MIT due to a "mixture of pride and the promise of free tuition." To William's dismay, Carolyn attended Harvard instead because the school offered strengths outside of just science.<ref She was not the first to stray, though, her older sister, Andrea, attended Princeton University. name=Davis/>

Bertozzi briefly considered a career in music. In high school, she won several awards for music compositions and musical accomplishments. Her talent on the keyboard earned her offers as a music major from several university rock bands, but she felt that she was "always centered on the sciences".<ref name=Davis/> Bertozzi is a [[lesbian]] and has been out since the late 1980s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Navals|first=Pauline|date=April 5, 2022|title=ONE ON ONE WITH CAROLYN BERTOZZI|journal=Chemical & Engineering News|language=en|url=https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/One-on-one-with-Carolyn-Bertozzi/100/i12}}</ref> She has a wife and three sons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iodonna.it/attualita/costume-e-societa/2022/10/06/nobel-per-la-chimica-carolyn-bertozzi-origini-italiane/|title=Il Nobel per la Chimica è donna, Carolyn R. Bertozzi, di origini italiane|date=October 6, 2022 }}</ref>

[[Category:American LGBT academics]]

[[Category:Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina]]