PHILADELPHIA, March 2, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- Phillip Sharp, Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a faculty
member of the Department of Biology and the Koch Institute
for Integrative Cancer Research, will receive the 2015 Othmer
Gold Medal at Heritage Day, May
14, at the Chemical Heritage Foundation. Sharp is the 21st
recipient of the Othmer Gold Medal since it was first awarded to
Ralph Landau in 1997.
"In 1977 Phil Sharp gave the scientific world a new view of the
structure of genes," said Carsten
Reinhardt, president and CEO. "In addition to his Nobel
Prize-winning research he has founded very successful biotechnology
companies, including Biogen. One of his graduate students is also a
Nobel laureate, and dozens of other Sharp lab alumni run labs and
companies and hold prestigious positions in hospitals and
universities around the world."
The 2015 Othmer Gold Medal will be the fourth award CHF has
presented to Sharp. In 2002 he received the Biotechnology Heritage
Award, and then in 2004 he delivered the annual Ullyot Public
Affairs Lecture. Sharp was awarded the Winthrop-Sears Medal at
Heritage Day 2007.
About Phillip Sharp
Sharp joined the Center for Cancer Research (now the Koch
Institute) in 1974 and served as its director for six years, from
1985 to 1991, before taking over as head of MIT's Department of Biology, a position he held for
the next eight years. More recently, he was founding director of
the McGovern Institute, a position he held from 2000 to 2004. Sharp
is also a cofounder of Biogen (now Biogen Idec) and Alnylam
Pharmaceuticals.
His research interests have centered on the molecular biology of
gene expression relevant to cancer and the mechanisms of RNA
splicing. His landmark work in 1977 provided the first indications
of "discontinuous genes" in mammalian cells. The discovery
fundamentally changed scientists' understanding of gene structure
and earned Sharp the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine.
Sharp has authored over 400 papers. He is an elected member of
the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical
Society, and the Royal Society. Among his many awards are the
Gairdner Foundation International Award, the Lasker Basic Medical
Research Award, and the National Medal of Science. His long list of
service includes the presidency of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science (2013) and chairman of its board (2014), and
chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of Stand Up to Cancer
(SU2C).
Sharp earned a BA degree from Union
College, in Barbourville, Kentucky, and a PhD in chemistry
from the University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign.
About the Othmer Gold Medal
The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) established the Othmer
Gold Medal in 1997 to honor outstanding individuals who have made
multifaceted contributions to our chemical and scientific heritage
through outstanding activity in such areas as innovation,
entrepreneurship, research, education, public understanding,
legislation, or philanthropy.
The medal is presented annually and cosponsored by CHF and four
affiliated organizations: the American Chemical Society (ACS), the
American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), The Chemists'
Club, and the Societe de Chimie Industrielle (American Section).
The medal commemorates Donald Othmer (1904–1995),
noted researcher, consultant, editor, engineer, inventor,
philanthropist, professor, and coeditor of the Kirk-Othmer
Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology.
CHF gratefully acknowledges John Wiley and Sons for donating a
set of the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical
Technology each year to the institution chosen by the
Othmer Gold Medal recipient.
About the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF)
CHF fosters dialogue on science and technology in society. Our
staff and fellows study the past in order to understand the present
and inform the future. We focus on matter and materials and their
effects on our modern world in territory ranging from the physical
sciences and industries, through the chemical sciences and
engineering, to the life sciences and technologies. We collect,
preserve, and exhibit historical artifacts; engage communities of
scientists and engineers; and tell the stories of the people behind
breakthroughs and innovations.
Contact:
Neil Gussman
1-215-925-2222
neilg@chemheritage.org
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SOURCE Chemical Heritage Foundation