2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun
Born in New Hampshire in 1953, Ambros grew up on a small dairy farm in Hartland, where his father was a Polish war refugee.
The 2024 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.
The 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine has been awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun from the United States for their groundbreaking discovery of microRNA and its role in regulating gene activity after transcription.
The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet announced, "This year’s prize is given to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation."
This important research highlights how cells control gene activity through a vital regulatory mechanism. Genetic information moves from DNA to messenger RNA (mRNA) through a process called transcription, and then mRNA guides the production of proteins in the cell.
The Nobel Prize release stated, "Their groundbreaking work with the small worm C. elegans revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation, essential for multicellular organisms, including humans. MicroRNAs are proving to be crucial for how organisms develop and function."
In 1993, Ambros and Ruvkun published their surprising findings, which introduced a new level of gene regulation that is significant and conserved throughout evolution.
The Nobel Prize in Medicine is awarded by the Nobel Assembly at Sweden's Karolinska Institute Medical University.
The recipients receive a prize sum of 11 million Swedish crowns, which is about $1.1 million.
About Victor Ambros
Victor R. Ambros is an American biologist celebrated for discovering the first known microRNA (miRNA).
He is currently a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts. Ambros earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from MIT in 1975 and completed his PhD there in 1979.
In 1993, he and his colleagues, Rosalind Lee and Rhonda Feinbaum, published their findings in the journal *Cell*, detailing single-stranded, non-protein-coding regulatory RNA molecules found in C. elegans.
Born in New Hampshire in 1953, Ambros grew up on a small dairy farm in Hartland, where his father was a Polish war refugee.
About Gary Ruvkun
Gary Bruce Ruvkun is a molecular biologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School in Boston. He discovered the mechanism of lin-4, which led to the identification of the first microRNA (miRNA) discovered by Victor Ambros. Ruvkun has also explored various aspects of insulin-like signaling related to aging and metabolism.
Ruvkun received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1973 and completed his PhD at Harvard University in the lab of Frederick M. Ausubel.
