Nobel Prize 2024 In Medicine: Who Are Victor Ambros And Gary Ruvkun?

The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm announced that Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine "for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation."

The Nobel Prize is a prestigious international accolade managed by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden, and funded by the estate of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor and entrepreneur. Recipients of this honour, whether individuals or organisations, are referred to as Nobel laureates.

About the research

• According to the official press release, this year's Nobel Committee honoured Ambros and Ruvkun for uncovering a fundamental principle in the regulation of gene activity. The information in our chromosomes can be likened to a guidebook for all cells. Each cell contains the same chromosomes, which means they all possess the same set of genes and instructions.
• Despite sharing identical genetic material, various cell types, such as muscle and nerve cells, have distinct characteristics. These differences occur due to gene regulation, a process that enables cells to select the necessary instructions, ensuring that the correct genes are active in each specific cell type.
• Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were investigating how different types of cells develop when they identified microRNA, a class of small RNA molecules vital to gene regulation.
• Their discovery introduced a new concept in gene regulation, essential for the functioning of multicellular organisms, including humans.
• It is now understood that the human genome encodes over a thousand microRNAs. This surprising finding revealed a new dimension of gene regulation, with microRNAs playing a critical role in organismal growth and function.

Who is Victor Ambros?

Victor R. Ambros, an American developmental biologist, was born in 1953 in Hanover, New Hampshire. He is credited with discovering the first microRNA (miRNA) and is currently a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Ambros grew up in Vermont and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1975. His graduate research (1976-1979) at MIT, under David Baltimore, focused on the poliovirus genome.

During his postdoctoral studies in H. Robert Horvitz's lab at MIT, Ambros began investigating the genetic pathways related to developmental timing in *C. elegans*. He continued his research on developmental timing whilst on the faculty at Harvard, Dartmouth, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

In 1993, Ambros' lab discovered the first microRNA, produced by the lin-4 gene in *C. elegans*, which significantly shaped his ongoing research on the role of microRNAs in development.

Who is Gary Ruvkun?

Gary Bruce Ruvkun, born in March 1952 in Berkeley, California, is an American molecular biologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School.

He discovered how lin-4, the first microRNA identified by Victor Ambros, regulates messenger RNA translation through imperfect base-pairing with its targets. Ruvkun also identified the second miRNA, let-7, and demonstrated that it is conserved across animal species, including humans.

He earned his undergraduate degree in 1973 from the University of California, Berkeley, and his PhD in biophysics from Harvard University in 1982, where he studied bacterial nitrogen fixation genes under Frederick M. Ausubel.

Ruvkun's postdoctoral research was conducted at MIT with Robert Horvitz and at Harvard with Walter Gilbert. He has been a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School since 1985, following his role as a Junior Fellow at Harvard's Society of Fellows (1982-1985).

His major research areas include microRNA and RNA interference mechanisms, genetic analysis of microbiome interactions, neuroendocrine control of immunity, detoxification, and ageing, as well as the exploration of life on other planets.