Lasker Award in Basic Medical Research
Jewish recipients of the Lasker Award in Basic Medical Research documented in the ThankJews directory. Jews are about 30% of all recipients — while making up roughly 0.2% of the world's population.
52 documented recipients
Selman Waksman1943
Streptomycin (first antibiotic for TB)
Source: Nobel Prize Medicine 1952
Hans Krebs1953
Discovery of the citric acid cycle (Krebs cycle) in cellular metabolism
Source: Jinfo.org / Nobel Prize Medicine 1953
Michael Heidelberger1888
Regarded as the father of modern immunochemistry for quantifying the antibody-antigen reaction.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
George Wald1906
Awarded the 1967 Nobel Prize for discovering the biochemical processes of vision in the retina.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Karl Meyer1899
Biochemist who discovered hyaluronidase and studied connective-tissue chemistry
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biomedical Science
Theodore Puck1916
Geneticist who developed methods to grow and clone single mammalian cells, founding somatic cell genetics.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Heinz Fraenkel-Conrat1910
Virologist who reconstituted infectious tobacco mosaic virus from its separated protein and RNA.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Jules Freund1890
Immunologist who developed Freund's adjuvant, a widely used booster of immune response.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Harry Rubin1926
Virologist known for work on Rous sarcoma virus and cancer cell biology
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biomedical Science
Bernard Brodie1907
Pharmacologist widely regarded as the father of modern drug metabolism research.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Marshall Nirenberg1968
Genetic Code
Source: Nobel Prize Medicine 1968
Seymour Benzer1921
Molecular biologist who mapped the fine structure of the gene and pioneered the genetics of behavior using fruit flies.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Sydney Brenner2002
Genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death
Source: Jinfo.org / Nobel Prize Medicine 2002
Charles Yanofsky1925
Geneticist who demonstrated the colinearity of a gene and the protein it encodes.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Ludwik Gross1904
Pioneer of viral oncology who showed that viruses can transmit cancer in mammals.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Sol Spiegelman1914
Molecular biologist who developed nucleic acid hybridization, a foundational technique in genetics.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Howard Temin1975
Reverse Transcriptase
Source: Nobel Prize Medicine 1975
Rosalyn Yalow1977
Radioimmunoassay
Source: Nobel Prize Medicine 1977
John Vane1927
Awarded the 1982 Nobel Prize for discovering how aspirin works and the biology of prostaglandins.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Hans Kosterlitz1903
Pharmacologist who co-discovered the enkephalins, the brain's natural opioids.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Solomon Snyder1938
Neuroscientist who identified opiate receptors in the brain, transforming neuropharmacology.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Walter Gilbert1980
DNA Sequencing
Source: Nobel Prize Chemistry 1980
Paul Berg1972
Recombinant DNA
Source: Nobel Prize Chemistry 1980
Stanley N. Cohen1935
Geneticist who co-invented recombinant DNA technology using plasmids, founding genetic engineering
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biomedical Science
Harold Varmus1989
Oncogenes and Cancer Biology
Source: Nobel Prize Medicine 1989
Eric Kandel2000
Signal transduction in the nervous system underlying memory
Source: Jinfo.org / Nobel Prize Medicine 2000
César Milstein1927
Awarded the 1984 Nobel Prize for developing the technique to produce monoclonal antibodies.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Michael Brown
No contribution details recorded yet.
Joseph Goldstein1940
Awarded the 1985 Nobel Prize for discovering the LDL receptor and regulation of cholesterol metabolism.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Rita Levi-Montalcini1986
Nerve Growth Factor
Source: Nobel Prize Medicine 1986
Stanley Cohen1986
Growth Factors
Source: Nobel Prize Medicine 1986
Philip Leder1989
Helped crack the genetic code and pioneered antibody genetics; National Medal of Science (1989)
Source: Jinfo.org — Jewish recipients of the US National Medal of Science
Alfred Gilman1941
Awarded the 1994 Nobel Prize for the discovery of G-proteins and their role in cellular signal transduction.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Stanley Prusiner1997
Discovery of prions, a new biological principle of infection
Source: Jinfo.org / Nobel Prize Medicine 1997
Jack Strominger1925
Biochemist who determined the structure of the human MHC molecules central to immune recognition.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Robert Furchgott1916
Awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize for discovering nitric oxide as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Mark Ptashne1940
Molecular biologist who first isolated a gene repressor, revealing how genes are switched on and off.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Aaron Ciechanover2004
Discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation
Source: Jinfo.org / Nobel Prize Chemistry 2004
Avram Hershko2004
Discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation
Source: Jinfo.org / Nobel Prize Chemistry 2004
Alexander Varshavsky1946
Biologist who discovered the ubiquitin system's N-end rule governing protein lifespan.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
James Rothman1950
Awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize for discovering the machinery regulating vesicle traffic in cells.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Randy Schekman1948
Awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize for discovering genes controlling the cell's vesicle transport system.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Pierre Chambon1931
Molecular biologist who discovered split genes and pioneered the study of nuclear hormone receptors.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Ronald M. Evans1949
Molecular biologist who discovered the superfamily of nuclear hormone receptors governing gene expression.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Ralph Steinman1943
Awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize for discovering dendritic cells and their role in adaptive immunity.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Gary Ruvkun1952
Awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize for the discovery of microRNA and its role in gene regulation.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Jeffrey Friedman1954
Molecular geneticist who discovered leptin, the hormone that regulates appetite and body weight.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Arthur Horwich1951
Biologist who discovered chaperonins, the cellular machines that fold proteins.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Ronald Vale1959
Cell biologist who discovered kinesin, a motor protein that transports cargo within cells.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Evelyn Witkin1921
Geneticist who discovered the bacterial SOS response and advanced the study of DNA repair.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Michael N. Hall2023
Discovered the TOR pathway governing cell growth; Grande Médaille (2023); Jewish mother
Source: Jinfo.org — Jewish recipients of the Grande Médaille of the French Academy of Sciences
Michael Grunstein1946
Molecular biologist who showed histones regulate gene expression
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biomedical Science