2009 Nobel Prize in MedicineUCSF Winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD, is the fourth UCSF scientist to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. (2009)
Others are:
Stanley B. Prusiner, MD: 1997 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of a novel disease-causing agent – a protein he named prion (PREE-on). The prion causes rare neurodegenerative diseases, such as Creutzfeldt Jakob disease in humans, and “mad cow” disease in cattle. The discovery has informed research into the role of misprocessed proteins in more common brain diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
J. Michael Bishop, MD: 1989 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his co-discovery with Harold Varmus, MD, of proto-oncogenes, showing that normal cellular genes can be converted to cancer genes. This work led to the recognition that all cancer probably arises from damage to normal genes and provided new strategies for the detection and treatment of cancer.
Harold E. Varmus, MD: 1989 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his co-discovery with J. Michael Bishop, MD, of proto-oncogenes, showing that normal cellular genes can be converted to cancer genes. This work led to the recognition that all cancer probably arises from damage to normal genes and provided new strategies for the detection and treatment of cancer.
