Lasker Foundation: The Winners on Film

Elizabeth H. Blackburn, PhD, 57, Morris Herzstein Professor of Biology and Physiology in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has been named to receive the 2006 Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research. Blackburn shares the award with Carol W. Greider, 45, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Jack W. Szostak, 53, of Harvard Medical School. The scientists were honored for their prediction and discovery of the telomerase enzyme, which synthesizes telomeres, the tiny units of DNA that seal off the ends of chromosomes, protecting them and maintaining the integrity of the genes contained within them. Both telomeres and telomerase play a key role in cell aging and human cancer. The Lasker Foundation has created a video resource to help viewers explore the winners' research and their personal stories and learn more about the science.

Related Links:

The Winners on Film
The Lasker Foundation, September 2006 UCSF's Elizabeth Blackburn Receives Lasker Award
September 2006 Hear Chancellor Bishop Discuss the Significance of Elizabeth Blackburn's Lasker Award-winning Research
UCSF Today, September 21, 2006 Blackburn Explains Award-Winning Research
UCSF Today, March 16, 2005