Michael W. Young

This article is about Michael Warren Young, U.S. geneticist. For Michael Wayne Young, see Michael Young (basketball, born 1961). For Michael Dalway Watson Young, see Michael Young (mayor). For other people, see Michael Young (disambiguation).

Michael W. Young
Michael W. Young in Nobel Prize press conference in Stockholm, December 2017
Born
Michael Warren Young

(1949-03-28) March 28, 1949 (age 75)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Texas, Austin (BA, PhD[1])
Known forCircadian rhythms
AwardsNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2017)
Scientific career
FieldsChronobiology
Biology
InstitutionsUniversity of Texas, Austin
Stanford University School of Medicine
Rockefeller University
ThesisNon-essential sequences, genes, and the polytene chromosome bands of drosophila melanogaster (1975)
Doctoral advisorBurke Judd
Doctoral studentsLeslie B. Vosshall

Michael Warren Young (born March 28, 1949) is an American biologist and geneticist. He has dedicated over three decades to research studying genetically controlled patterns of sleep and wakefulness within Drosophila melanogaster.[2]

At Rockefeller University, his lab has made significant contributions in the field of chronobiology by identifying key genes associated with regulation of the internal clock responsible for circadian rhythms. He was able to elucidate the function of the period gene, which is necessary for the fly to exhibit normal sleep cycles. Young's lab is also attributed with the discovery of the timeless and doubletime genes, which makes proteins that are also necessary for circadian rhythm. He was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Jeffrey C. Hall and Michael Rosbash "for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm".[3][4]

  1. ^ "University of Texas at Austin Alum Michael W. Young Awarded Nobel Prize".
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference gruber was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cha, Arlene Eujung (October 2, 2017). "Nobel in physiology, medicine awarded to three Americans for discovery of 'clock genes'". Washington Post. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  4. ^ "The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine – Press Release". The Nobel Foundation. October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.