In Applied Biotechnology: Charles Weissmann
(Scripps, Florida)
An innovator in molecular biology since his days with Severo Ochoa, he developed the technique of site-directed mutagenesis. He is honored for his elucidation of multiple interferon genes and the first expression of interferon activity in E.coli, a prerequisite for the pharmaceutical development of Intron A (interferon alpha2b) by the Biogen company, of which Dr. Weissmann was a co-founder, and Schering-Plough. Pegylated interferon alpha, in combination with ribavirin is now the first-line treatment of hepatitis C. He has also unraveled the molecular genetics of neurodegenerative diseases (scrapie, Creutzfeldt-Jacob or "mad cow" disease) caused by infective protein particles, prions, and developed tools for the detection and decontamination of prions in veterinary and clinical settings.
The NYU Alumnus Achievement Award: Eric Kandel
(Columbia University)
The 2000 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Dr. Kandel is honored for his analysis of how molecular
form follows neural function. Grounded in the principles of dynamic psychiatry, he has pioneered the molecular
study of how short term memory is converted to long term memory. In doing so he has delineated the pathways
and cascades of gene activation that govern memory in snails and mice. By anatomical and genetic means, he has
defined the common features of explicit memory storage in mice and implicit memory storage in the sea snail Aplysia,
a simple organism that he has established as the model organism of choice in neurobiology. Working with Aplysia
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Contact: Pamela McDonnell
Pamela.McDonnell@nyumc.org
212-404-3555
New York University Medical Center and School of Medicine
10-Apr-2006