American Cancer Society Nobel Laureates

The American Cancer Society is honored to have supported 47 investigators before they went on to win the Nobel Prize, considered the highest accolade any scientist can receive. This is a tribute to the Society’s Research program and the strength of its peer-review process.

2013 James E. Rothman, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine -For defining the control of the movement of membranes in cells; which contributes greatly to the understanding of cell functioning in numerous diseases, including cancer. These internal cell membranes are key to the function of cells and the ability of cells to move, both of which are hallmarks of cancer cells.

2011Bruce Beutler, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine -Discovered receptor proteins that can recognize bacteria and other microorganisms as they enter the body, and activate innate immunity.

2011 Ralph Steinman, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine - Discovered a new cell type that he called the dendritic cell, which led to the first therapeutic vaccine for prostate cancer, Provenge.

2009 Thomas A. Steitz, PhD. Nobel Prize in Chemistry -Studied structure and function of the ribosome.

2009 Jack W. Szostak, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine -Helped discover how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.

2007 Mario R. Capecchi, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine -Using mouse embryonic stem cells they developed techniques for manipulating individual genes. This allowed for a more precise understanding of how individual genes worked in the mouse and accelerated the use of the mouse as a model of human cancer. This work has led to the identification of genes that are targets of cancer therapies.

2007 Oliver Smithies, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine - Using mouse embryonic stem cells they developed techniques for manipulating individual genes. This allowed for a more precise understanding of how individual genes worked in the mouse and accelerated the use of the mouse as a model of human cancer. This work has led to the identification of genes that are targets of cancer therapies. Dr. Smithies was funded for earlier work on genetic control of protein structure and synthesis.

2006 Roger D Kornberg, PhD. Nobel Prize in Chemistry-Studied molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription.

2006 Craig C. Mello, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine -Helped discover RNA interference - gene silencing by double-stranded RNA

2004 Aaron Ciechanover, MD. Nobel Prize in Chemistry - Helped discover ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation

2004 Avram Hershko, MD, PhD. Nobel Prize in Chemistry - Helped discover ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation 2004 Irwin A. Rose, PhD. Nobel Prize in Chemistry -Helped discover ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation

2001 Leland Hartwell, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Discovered key regulators of the cell cycle.

1999 Günter Blobel, MD, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Discovered how proteins find their proper location in the cell.

1995 Edward B. Lewis, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine -Found evidence that certain patterns in development apply to human cancers.

1994 Alfred Gilman, MD, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Helped to understand how cells talk to one another.

1993 Phillip A. Sharp, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Showed that readable regions on DNA are separated by some regions that cannot be read.

1990 E. Donnall Thomas, MD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Pioneered bone marrow transplantation.

1989 Sidney Altman, PhD. Nobel Prize in Chemistry- Discovered that RNA can sometimes act as an enzyme.

1989 Thomas R. Cech, PhD. Nobel Prize in Chemistry- Found evidence that RNA may have enzymatic properties in cells.

1989 J. Michael Bishop, MD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Discovered latent cancer genes, oncogenes, in normal cells.

1989 Harold E. Varmus, MD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Showed that defects in normal genes can cause cancer.

1987 Susumu Tonegawa, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Discovered how antibodies are made by cells of the immune system.

1986 Stanley Cohen, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Showed that some growth factors influence cancer development.

1980 Paul Berg, PhD. Nobel Prize in Chemistry- Was the first to create a recombinant DNA molecule.

1980 Walter Gilbert, MD. Nobel Prize in Chemistry- Developed a method important for sequencing DNA.

1980 Baruj Benacerraf, MD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Contributed to the understanding of the genetic basis of immunology. 1978 Daniel Nathans, MD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Discovered enzymes that modify DNA, facilitating the study of genes.

1978 Hamilton O. Smith, MD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Discovered DNA splicing enzymes important for genetic engineering

1975 Renato Dulbecco, MD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Found that certain animal cancer viruses can insert themselves into a cell's DNA.

1975 Howard M. Temin, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Discovered the reverse transcriptase that translates RNA into DNA.

1975 David Baltimore, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Found that some RNA viruses can transfer their information to DNA.

1972 Christian B. Anfinsen, PhD. Nobel Prize in Chemistry- Discovered how enzymes assume their active shapes within the living cell.

1969 Salvador E. Luria, MD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Did important work on phages to provide basic knowledge of viruses.

1969 Max Delbruck, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Showed how DNA replicates itself and the genetic structure of viruses.

1968 Robert Holley, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Determined the structure of transfer RNA, which is important in protein synthesis.

1968 Marshall Nirenberg, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis.

1966 Charles B. Huggins, MD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Demonstrated hormonal dependence of breast and prostate cancer cells.

1966 Francis P. Rous, MD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Discovered that cancer can be induced by injecting a tumor extract.

1965 Robert Burns Woodward, PhD. Nobel Prize in Chemistry- Determined how the body uses small compounds to build organic molecules for life’s functions.

1965 James D. Watson, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Discovered the double helix structure of DNA. 1959 JSevero Ochoa, MD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Discovered RNA polymerase, an enzyme that synthesizes RNA.

1958 Edward L Tatum, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Reported that mutations can alter nutritional requirements of cells.

1958 George W. Beadle, Ph., Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Provided evidence that for every enzyme there is one gene.

1958 Fritz Lipmann, MD, PhD.Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Discovered an enzyme that helps to convert food into energy.

1946 Wendell M. Stanley, PhD. Nobel Prize in Chemistry- Crystallized viruses, thus demonstrating their structure.

1946 Hermann Joseph Muller, PhD. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- Discovered that x-ray irradiation can produce cell mutations.