New York, NY October 4, 2006 Columbia University will award the 2006 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize to structural biologist Roger D. Kornberg, Ph.D., Winzer Professor in Medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine. Dr. Kornberg will be honored for his work revolutionizing our understanding of gene transcription, the first step in transforming the genomic code in the cell into proteins, which run the cell.
It was also announced today that Dr. Kornberg has won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
"Dr. Kornberg's research is fundamental in pointing the way to innovative therapies for cancer, heart disease and other illnesses in which there is disturbance of genetic activity," said Lee Goldman, M.D., executive vice president of Columbia University and dean of the faculties of health sciences and medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. "His work represents exactly the type of scientific activity that we are proud to honor with the Horwitz Prize."
"We are pleased to continue our Horwitz tradition by awarding this year's prize to Roger Kornberg," said David Hirsh, Ph.D., executive vice president for research at Columbia University. "His groundbreaking work has been central to explaining the fundamental basis of gene regulation."
The Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize was established by Columbia University to recognize outstanding contributions to basic research in the fields of biology and biochemistry. Awarded annually since 1967, the prize was named for the mother of Columbia benefactor S. Gross Horwitz. Louisa Gross Horwitz was daughter of Dr. Samuel David Gross, author of "A System of Surgery" and a founder of the American Medical Association. For additional information about the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize, visit: http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/horwitz.
"I'm pleased to receive this prestigious recognition, and am delighted to share the honor with some of the most distingu
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Contact: Craig LeMoult
cel2113@columbia.edu
212-305-0820
Columbia University Medical Center
4-Oct-2006