The Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded on Monday to Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their groundbreaking discovery of microRNA, a key principle in the regulation of gene activity.
The Nobel Assembly noted that their finding is “proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function.”
Ambros conducted the research that earned him this honor at Harvard University and is currently a professor of natural science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Ruvkun carried out his research at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where he serves as a professor of genetics, according to Thomas Perlmann, Secretary-General of the Nobel Committee.
Perlmann said he spoke to Ruvkun by phone shortly before the announcement.
“It took a long time before he came to the phone and sounded very tired, but he quite rapidly, was quite excited and happy, when he understood what, it was all about,” Perlmann said.
