Sir Edwin Mellor Southern (born 1938) is a 2005 Lasker Award-winning molecular biologist. His award is from the invention of the Southern blot, now a common laboratory procedure. The Southern blot is used for DNA analysis. The northern blot is a similar procedure for RNA, playing off the Southern name. The western blot is a further pun on the Southern blot, but is an important research tool in protein detection. Professor Southern is a fellow of Trinity College, Oxford.

The Southern blot is routinely used for genetic fingerprinting and paternity testing. The concepts of the Southern blot were used in the development and creation of the modern microarray slide, which is a promising experimental tool.

1938 births | Living people | Molecular biologists