Gary Ruvkun

Gary Ruvkun
Born (1952-03-26) March 26, 1952 (age 72)[1]
Berkeley, California, U.S.[2]
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley (AB)
Harvard University (PhD)
Awards
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Berkeley
Harvard University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts General Hospital
ThesisThe molecular genetic analysis of symbiotic nitrogen fixation (NIF) genes from rhizobium meliloti (1982)
Doctoral advisorFrederick Ausubel
Websiteruvkun.hms.harvard.edu

Gary Bruce Ruvkun (born March 26, 1952) is an American molecular biologist and Nobel laureate at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School in Boston.[3]

Ruvkun discovered the mechanism by which lin-4, the first microRNA (miRNA) discovered by Victor Ambros, regulates the translation of target messenger RNAs via imperfect base-pairing to those targets, and discovered the second miRNA, let-7, and that it is conserved across animal phylogeny, including in humans. These miRNA discoveries revealed a new world of RNA regulation at an unprecedented small size scale, and the mechanism of that regulation. Ruvkun also discovered many features of insulin-like signaling in the regulation of aging and metabolism.

He was elected a Member of the American Philosophical Society in 2019. Ruvkun was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.[4]

  1. ^ "Who are Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun, winners of 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine?". Hindustan Times. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  2. ^ Who's Who in America 66th edition. Vol 2: M–Z. Marquis Who's Who, Berkeley Heights 2011, p. 3862
  3. ^ Nair, P. (2011). "Profile of Gary Ruvkun". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108 (37): 15043–5. Bibcode:2011PNAS..10815043N. doi:10.1073/pnas.1111960108. PMC 3174634. PMID 21844349.
  4. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved October 7, 2024.