Paul Greengard

Born in New York to a Jewish father (his mother, who died at his birth, was not Jewish), Greengard revealed how neurotransmitters such as dopamine act on nerve cells through slow chemical cascades — reversible protein phosphorylation that adjusts how neurons respond. This 'slow synaptic transmission' explained the action of drugs for Parkinson's disease and depression, and earned him a share of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He used his prize money to fund an award honoring women in science, named for his mother.