The Lasker Awards have been awarded annually since 1946 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science or who have performed public service on behalf of medicine. They are administered by the Lasker Foundation, founded by advertising pioneer Albert Lasker and his wife Mary Woodard Lasker (later an influential medical research activist). The awards are sometimes referred to as "America's Nobels." Seventy-six Lasker laureates have received the Nobel Prize, including 28 in the last two decades.[1] Maria C. Freire is the current President of the Foundation.
The four main awards are:[2]
Recent winners include the following:
| Year | Award | Laureate(s) | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Basic | Franz-Ulrich Hartl | for discoveries concerning the cell's protein-folding machinery, exemplified by cage-like structures that convert newly made proteins into their biologically active forms.[3] |
| Arthur L. Horwich | |||
| Clinical | Tu Youyou | for the discovery of artemisinin, a drug therapy for malaria that has saved millions of lives across the globe, especially in the developing world.[4] | |
| Public Service | National Institutes of Health Clinical Center | for serving since its inception as a model research hospital — providing innovative therapy and high-quality patient care, treating rare and severe diseases, and producing outstanding physician-scientists whose collective work has set a standard of excellence in biomedical research.[5] | |
| 2010 | Basic | Douglas L. Coleman | discovery of leptin, a hormone that regulates appetite and body weight - a breakthrough that opened obesity research to molecular exploration.[6] |
| Jeffrey M. Friedman | |||
| Clinical | Napoleone Ferrara | discovery of VEGF as a major mediator of angiogenesis and the development of an effective anti-VEGF therapy for wet macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in the elderly.[7] | |
| Special Achievement | David Weatherall | for 50 years of international statesmanship in biomedical science - exemplified by discoveries concerning genetic diseases of the blood and for leadership in improving clinical care for thousands of children with thalassemia throughout the developing world.[8] | |
| 2009 | Basic | John Gurdon | discoveries concerning nuclear reprogramming, the process that instructs specialized adult cells to form early stem cells — creating the potential to become any type of mature cell for experimental or therapeutic purposes.[9] |
| Shinya Yamanaka | |||
| Clinical | Brian Druker | the development of molecularly-targeted treatments for chronic myeloid leukemia, converting a fatal cancer into a manageable chronic condition.[10] | |
| Nicholas Lydon | |||
| Charles Sawyers | |||
| Public Service | Michael Bloomberg | employing sound science in political decision making; setting a world standard for the public's health as an impetus for government action; leading the way to reduce the scourge of tobacco use; and advancing public health through enlightened philanthropy.[11] | |
| 2008 | Basic | Victor Ambros | discoveries that revealed an unanticipated world of tiny RNAs that regulate gene function in plants and animals.[12] |
| David Baulcombe | |||
| Gary Ruvkun | |||
| Clinical | Akira Endo | the discovery of the statins — drugs with remarkable LDL-cholesterol-lowering properties that have revolutionized the prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease.[13] | |
| Special Achievement | Stanley Falkow | a 51-year career as one of the great microbe hunters of all time — he discovered the molecular nature of antibiotic resistance, revolutionized the way we think about how pathogens cause disease, and mentored more than 100 students, many of whom are now distinguished leaders in the fields of microbiology and infectious diseases.[1] | |
| 2007 | Basic | Ralph Steinman | the discovery of dendritic cells—the preeminent component of the immune system that initiates and regulates the body's response to foreign antigens.[14] |
| Clinical | Alain Carpentier | the development of prosthetic mitral and aortic valves, which have prolonged and enhanced the lives of millions of people with heart disease.[15] | |
| Albert Starr | |||
| Public Service | Anthony Fauci | his role as the principal architect of two major U.S. governmental programs, one aimed at AIDS and the other at biodefense.[16] | |
| 2006 | Basic | Elizabeth Blackburn | the prediction and discovery of telomerase, a remarkable RNA-containing enzyme that synthesizes the ends of chromosomes, protecting them and maintaining the integrity of the genome[17] |
| Carol Greider | |||
| Jack Szostak | |||
| Clinical | Aaron Beck | the development of cognitive therapy, which has transformed the understanding and treatment of many psychiatric conditions, including depression, suicidal behavior, generalized anxiety, panic attacks, and eating disorders.[18] | |
| Special Achievement | Joseph Gall | a distinguished 57-year career - as a founder of modern cell biology and the field of chromosome structure and function; bold experimentalist; inventor of in situ hybridization; and early champion of women in science.[19] | |
| 2005 | Basic | Ernest McCulloch | ingenious experiments that first identified a stem cell - the blood-forming stem cell - which set the stage for all current research on adult and embryonic stem cells.[20] |
| James Till | |||
| Clinical | Alec John Jeffreys | development of two powerful technologies - Southern hybridization and DNA fingerprinting - that together revolutionized human genetics and forensic diagnostics.[21] | |
| Edwin Mellor Southern | |||
| Public Service | Nancy Brinker | creating one of the world's great foundations devoted to curing breast cancer and for dramatically increasing public awareness about this devastating disease.[22] | |
| 2004 | Basic | Pierre Chambon | the discovery of the superfamily of nuclear hormone receptors and elucidation of a unifying mechanism that regulates embryonic development and diverse metabolic pathways.[23] |
| Ronald M. Evans | |||
| Elwood V. Jensen | |||
| Clinical | Charles Kelman | revolutionizing the surgical removal of cataracts, turning a 10-day hospital stay into an outpatient procedure, and dramatically reducing complications.[24] | |
| Special Achievement | Matthew Meselson | a lifetime career that combines penetrating discovery in molecular biology with creative leadership in the public policy of chemical and biological weapons.[25] | |
| 2003 | Basic | Robert G. Roeder | pioneering studies on eukaryotic RNA polymerases and the general transcriptional machinery, which opened gene expression in animal cells to biochemical analysis.[26] |
| Clinical | Marc Feldmann | discovery of anti-TNF therapy as an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.[27] | |
| Ravinder N. Maini | |||
| Public Service | Christopher Reeve | perceptive, sustained, and heroic advocacy for medical research in general, and victims of disability in particular.[28] | |
| 2002 | Basic | James E. Rothman | discoveries revealing the universal molecular machinery that orchestrates the budding and fusion of membrane vesicles - a process essential to organelle formation, nutrient uptake, and secretion of hormones and neurotransmitters.[29] |
| Randy W. Schekman | |||
| Clinical | Willem J. Kolff | development of renal hemodialysis, which changed kidney failure from a fatal to a treatable disease, prolonging the useful lives of millions of patients.[30] | |
| Belding H. Scribner | |||
| Special Achievement | James E. Darnell, Jr. | for an exceptional career in biomedical science during which he opened two fields in biology - RNA processing and cytokine signaling - and fostered the development of many creative scientists.[31] | |
| 2001 | Basic | Mario R. Capecchi | development of a powerful technology for manipulating the mouse genome with exquisite precision, which allows the creation of animal models of human disease.[32] |
| Martin J. Evans | |||
| Oliver Smithies | |||
| Clinical | Robert G. Edwards | development of in vitro fertilization, a technological advance that has revolutionized the treatment of human infertility.[33] | |
| Public Service | William H. Foege | for courageous leadership in improving worldwide public health, and his prominent role in the eradication of smallpox.[34] | |
| 2000 | Basic | Aaron Ciechanover | for the discovery and recognition of the broad significance of the ubiquitin system of regulated protein degradation, a fundamental process that influences vital cellular events, including the cell cycle, malignant transformation, and responses to inflammation and immunity.[35] |
| Avram Hershko | |||
| Alexander Varshavsky | |||
| Clinical | Harvey J. Alter | discovery of the virus that causes hepatitis C and the development of screening methods that reduced the risk of blood transfusion-associated hepatitis in the U.S. from 30% in 1970 to virtually zero in 2000. [36] | |
| Michael Houghton | |||
| Special Achievement | Sydney Brenner | for 50 years of brilliant creativity in biomedical science - exemplified by his legendary work on the genetic code; his daring introduction of the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans as a system for tracing the birth and death of every cell in a living animal; his rational voice in the debate on recombinant DNA; and his trenchant wit. [37] |