Mumbai, Jan 9 (IANS): The 1993 Nobel laureate, Sir Richard J. Roberts, has been named for this year's UDCT Alumni Association-Dhirubhai Ambani Lifetime Achievement Award' for his outstanding professional and educational contributions, an official said here on Wednesday.

The award, sponsored by the Reliance Industries Ltd., will be conferred on Sir Roberts at a function in the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Matunga on Friday.

Sir Roberts, 76, holds a doctorate from University of Sheffield and has served as Consultant and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board at New England Biolabs since 1974.

He joined the NEB as Chief Scientific Officer in 1992 and the following year (1993), he was named for the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his contribution to the discovery of introns in eukaryotic DNA and the mechanism of 'gene-splicing'.

His current research interests dwell on enzyme discovery using bioinformatics, combined with the experimental testing of function.

At the NEB, Sir Richards guides research and set the scientific goals for the company, besides lecturing and giving presentations globally, and investigating potential opportunities for scientific and commercial collaborations.

A Fellow of the Royal Society and Member of European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO), he has also been awarded honorary degrees and doctorates from several universities around the world.

At the award function here on Friday, Sir Richards will deliver a talk on "Fact and Fiction about GMOs and the Future of Biotechnology" before a distinguished audience.