Lynne Maquat Receives 2024 Dr. Paul Janssen Award
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Lynne E. Maquat, Ph.D., a mechanistic biochemist and director of the University of Rochester Center for RNA Biology, is the winner of 2024 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research. Honored for her fundamental discoveries about RNA decay in the context of human diseases, she shares the award with Alexander Varshavsky, Ph.D., of the California Institute of Technology, who is honored for his research on regulated degradation of proteins.
Established by Johnson & Johnson in 2004, the award is a tribute to Dr. Paul Janssen, an accomplished and passionate researcher who helped save millions of lives through his contribution to the discovery and development of more than 80 medicines. Since its inception, the award has recognized 24 exceptional scientists, eight of whom have gone on to win the Nobel Prize.
Maquat discovered a cellular quality control mechanism known as nonsense-mediated mRNA decay or NMD. One of the major surveillance systems in the body, NMD protects against mistakes in gene expression by targeting and eliminating deleterious mRNAs that could lead to the production of incomplete and potentially toxic proteins. NMD plays a role in many disorders, including inherited diseases like cystic fibrosis and different types of cancer.
Maquat and Varshavsky were chosen by an independent selection committee of the world’s most renowned scientists.
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