​Joint winners of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine bring total ACS-funded winners to 52.

The joint winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, announced on Oct. 7, were both funded by the American Cancer Society early in their careers. Dr. Victor Ambrose and Dr. Gary Ruvkun bring the total to 52 investigators who were funded by ACS and went on to win the Nobel Prize, considered the highest accolade any scientist can receive.

The winners were awarded the honor for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Dr. Ambros received several grants from ACS between 1980-1990. Dr. Ruvkun received one grant from ACS from 1991-1995. Both researchers have also served as mentors on awarded grants from ACS.

“The discovery of microRNA has led to a greater understanding of the impact gene regulation can have on diseases such as cancer. Dr. Ambros’ and Dr. Ruvkun’s work has proven to be essential to our understanding of how organisms develop and function and will continue to play a pivotal role in future cancer research and treatment methods,” said Karen Knudsen, MBA, PhD, CEO of the American Cancer Society. “ACS prides itself on identifying and funding talented investigators and we are so proud to have supported this important work.”

Their groundbreaking discovery of microRNA revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans. It is now known that the human genome codes for over one thousand microRNAs. Their surprising discovery revealed an entirely new dimension to gene regulation. MicroRNAs are proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function.

Dr. Ambros is now Silverman Professor of Natural Science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA. Dr. Ruvkun became a Principal Investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in 1985, where he is now Professor of Genetics.

The Nobel Prize, awarded in memory of Alfred Nobel since 1901, celebrates achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, peace, and economic sciences. An awards ceremony will be held in December for the honorees. Learn more about past ACS-funded recipients on cancer.org.

Click on the illustration above to like and share the news on X.