Wolf Prize in Medicine
Jewish recipients of the Wolf Prize in Medicine documented in the ThankJews directory. Jews are about 41% of all recipients — while making up roughly 0.2% of the world's population.
24 documented recipients
César Milstein1927
Awarded the 1984 Nobel Prize for developing the technique to produce monoclonal antibodies.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Leo Sachs1924
Geneticist who elucidated blood-cell differentiation and pioneered prenatal diagnosis via amniocentesis.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Stanley N. Cohen1935
Geneticist who co-invented recombinant DNA technology using plasmids, founding genetic engineering
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biomedical Science
Solomon Snyder1938
Neuroscientist who identified opiate receptors in the brain, transforming neuropharmacology.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Meir Wilchek1935
Biochemist who developed avidin-biotin technology, widely used in biological research and diagnostics
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biomedical Science
Elizabeth Neufeld1928
Biochemist who elucidated the cellular basis of lysosomal storage diseases.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
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
Judah Folkman1933
Surgeon who founded the field of angiogenesis research, opening a new approach to cancer therapy.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Michael Sela1924
Immunologist who co-developed Copaxone for multiple sclerosis and pioneered synthetic antigens.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Ruth Arnon1933
Immunologist who co-developed Copaxone, a leading treatment for multiple sclerosis.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Alexander Levitzki1940
Biochemist who pioneered signal transduction inhibitors (tyrphostins) as cancer drugs
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biomedical Science
Robert Weinberg1942
Cancer biologist who isolated the first human oncogene and first tumor-suppressor gene.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Howard Cedar1943
Molecular biologist who elucidated the role of DNA methylation in gene regulation
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biomedical Science
Aharon Razin1935
Biochemist who helped establish the role of DNA methylation in gene control
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biomedical Science
Nahum Sonenberg1946
Biochemist who elucidated the control of protein synthesis (translation) initiation
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biomedical Science
Jeffrey Ravetch1951
Immunologist who elucidated the role of antibody Fc receptors in immunity
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biomedical Science
C. Ronald Kahn1944
Endocrinologist who elucidated insulin signaling and its role in diabetes
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biomedical Science
Jeffrey Friedman1954
Molecular geneticist who discovered leptin, the hormone that regulates appetite and body weight.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Adrian Krainer2021
Developed the first drug for spinal muscular atrophy (nusinersen); Wolf Prize in Medicine (2021)
Source: Jinfo.org — Jewish recipients of the Wolf Prize (Medicine)
Daniel Drucker1956
Endocrinologist whose GLP-1 research underlies modern diabetes and obesity drugs.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
José-Alain Sahel1955
Ophthalmologist advancing treatments for blindness, including optogenetic vision restoration
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biomedical Science
Eric Kandel2000
Signal transduction in the nervous system underlying memory
Source: Jinfo.org / Nobel Prize Medicine 2000
Avram Hershko2004
Discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation
Source: Jinfo.org / Nobel Prize Chemistry 2004
Gary Ruvkun1952
Awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize for the discovery of microRNA and its role in gene regulation.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology