Internationally renowned scientist Dr Gordon Cragg received an honorary degree of Doctor of Science from Rhodes University on Saturday 10 April.
Dr Gordon Cragg has carved a niche in the diverse discipline of Organic Chemistry at the point where nature and science meet.
Internationally renowned scientist Dr Gordon Cragg received an honorary degree of Doctor of Science from Rhodes University on Saturday 10 April.
Dr Gordon Cragg has carved a niche in the diverse discipline of Organic Chemistry at the point where nature and science meet.
He has researched extensively into the production of cancer and HIV/Aids drugs from plants, and has helped discover useful chemicals that are slowly changing the face of medicine.
His interest in the use of nature and plants to produce drugs was sparked by South Africa’s wealth of biodiversity.
After he graduated from Rhodes University in 1956 with a Bsc (Hons) in Chemistry he quickly took an interest in the numerous plants in and around the Cape Town area.
In 1963, he furthered his studies significantly after he obtained his DPhil from Oxford University. This was followed by a two-year long post-doctoral research completed at the University of California after which he returned to South Africa to work for the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
In all his research endeavours, Cragg has emphasised the importance of international and multi-disciplinary collaboration, and has travelled to over 30 countries and conducted extensive research in Brazil.
As a result, he has been able to make revolutionary contributions towards the treatment and control of cancer.
In 1979, he was appointed Assistant Director of the Cancer Research Institute at Arizona State University. Cragg has also been very closely affiliated with the National Cancer Institute based in the USA where he was appointed chief in 1985.
He retired in 2004, but continues to serve as a Special Volunteer of the National Institute of Health in America.
For his commitment and contributions to the institute he received an Merit Award for demonstrating leadership in internal collaborative research and helping develop the anti-cancer drug Taxol.
Cragg’s involvement in discovering new natural product agents for cancer treatment has been awarded by the Missouri Botanical Garden, where he was also honoured by having a plant named after him.
