Internationally celebrated for establishing the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), as a scientific model organism, Dr. Brenner is a pioneer in genetics and molecular biology who received the 2002 Nobel Prize. The use of C. elegans has contributed immensely to the understanding of numerous biological events, including cell development, growth, proliferation, survival, and death.
Dr. Brenner has also been instrumental in defining the molecular mechanisms by which proteins are produced and encoded by specific messenger RNA (mRNA) sequences. He co-discovered mRNA and determined that during translation different mRNA sequences correlate to the production of specific amino acids that make up various proteins. This knowledge has been instrumental in the evolution of cancer research, leading to better understanding of the molecular process of protein production.
Career Highlights
2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
2000 Albert Lasker Award for Special Achievement in Science
1996-2000 President and Director, The Molecular Sciences Institute, Berkeley
1992 Elected Foreign Member, Academy of Science, Paris
1992 King Faisal International Prize for Science
1991 Copley Medal
1990 Kyoto Prize
1987 Harvey Prize, Technicon-Israel Institute of Technology
1985 Elected Foreign Member, Royal Academy of Sciences, Spain
1980 Krebs Medal, Federation of European Biochemical Societies
1979-1986 Director, Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge
1978 Gairdner Foundation International Award
1971 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
1965 Elected Fellow, The Royal Society, London
1954 D.Phil, Oxford University
1951 MB.BCh., University of Witwatersrand