Charles Brenner (biochemist)

In 2012, Brenner was asked by the President of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to develop pre-medical curriculum recommendations that would be consistent with a revised MCAT examination. These recommendations, which include development of inorganic, organic and biochemistry coursework that is more geared toward the chemistry of bioorganic functional groups, have been further refined in academic journals. Brenner's work in this area was recognized by the 2016 ASBMB Award for Exemplary Contributions to Education.

Brenner recently showed that rodent postpartum mothers are under severe metabolic stress to their NAD system and that supplementing such mothers with NR increases maternal weight loss, advances juvenile development and provides long lasting neurodevelopmental advantages into adulthood. He is author of more than 150 publications and was the senior editor of the 2004 book, Oncogenomics: Molecular Approaches to Cancer.

Brenner is a graduate of Wesleyan University and a veteran of biotechnology companies, having worked at Chiron Corporation and DNAX Research Institute, prior to graduate school at Stanford University School of Medicine. Brenner conducted post-doctoral research at Brandeis University with Gregory Petsko and then took his first academic position at Thomas Jefferson University in 1996, moving to Dartmouth Medical School in 2003, where he served as Associate Director for Basic Sciences at Norris Cotton Cancer Center. He served as chair of biochemistry at University of Iowa from 2009 to 2020.

Charles Brenner (born October 30, 1961) is the chair of the Department of Diabetes & Cancer Metabolism at the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope National Medical Center. He is a major contributor to work on nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide metabolism, who discovered the eukaryotic nicotinamide riboside (NR) kinase pathway.