Robert Tod Schimke (October 25, 1932 – September 6, 2014[1]) was an American biochemist and cancer researcher.
At Stanford he examined the effects of steroid hormones on the synthesis of certain proteins, leading to new techniques in genetic engineering.
In 1977, he (and doctoral student Fred Alt) discovered the phenomenon of gene amplification in mammalian cells.
The mechanism also found applications in biotechnology, for example in the production of proteins, including erythropoietin, of which he helped to develop a commercial version.
[2] In 2009, the Stanford School of Medicine recognized his many contributions with the J. E. Wallace Sterling Lifetime Achievement Award.