William J. Dreyer, 75; Caltech Professor, Biotechnology Pioneer

William J. Dreyer, 75, a Caltech professor of biology and a molecular immunologist whose research and inventions helped fuel the biotechnology industry, died April 23 in Pasadena after a long illness.

Unusual among his academic peers, Dreyer enthusiastically supported the role of technology in exploring and developing biology. He held 21 patents, most notably for an automated protein sequencer that proved a key in the start-up of Applied Biosystems, which he founded with Lee Hood, and the consequent development of the biotech industry.

In the 1960s, Dreyer’s innovative research demonstrated that genes could be reshuffled to diversify antibody molecules, fostering better protection against infections and even some cancers. Hood, his first graduate student, who worked with him on the project, went on to develop protein and DNA synthesizers and help found 10 biotech companies.

Born in Kalamazoo, Mich., Dreyer earned his bachelor’s degree at Reed College and a doctorate in biochemistry at the University of Washington. He worked for six years as a research biochemist at the National Heart Institute and National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Disease before joining the Caltech faculty in 1963.