H. Robert Horvitz
Encyclopedia
Howard Robert Horvitz is an American
biologist
best known for his research on the nematode
worm Caenorhabditis elegans
.
. He obtained his PhD in Biology from Harvard University
in 1974.
He is currently at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
where he is Professor of Biology and a member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research
. He is also an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
.
He currently serves as the chair of the board of trustees for Society for Science & the Public
.
Horvitz is a member of the USA Science and Engineering Festival
's Advisory Board.
from Columbia University
. That year he was also awarded the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology
. Horvitz shared the 2002 Nobel Prize
in Physiology or Medicine with Sydney Brenner
and John Sulston. In 2009, he was named a Foreign member of the Royal Society.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
biologist
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
best known for his research on the nematode
Nematode
The nematodes or roundworms are the most diverse phylum of pseudocoelomates, and one of the most diverse of all animals. Nematode species are very difficult to distinguish; over 28,000 have been described, of which over 16,000 are parasitic. It has been estimated that the total number of nematode...
worm Caenorhabditis elegans
Caenorhabditis elegans
Caenorhabditis elegans is a free-living, transparent nematode , about 1 mm in length, which lives in temperate soil environments. Research into the molecular and developmental biology of C. elegans was begun in 1974 by Sydney Brenner and it has since been used extensively as a model...
.
Life
Horvitz did his undergraduate studies at MIT in 1968, where he joined Alpha Epsilon PiAlpha Epsilon Pi
Alpha Epsilon Pi , the Global Jewish college fraternity, has 155 active chapters in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Israel with a membership of over 9,000 undergraduates...
. He obtained his PhD in Biology from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1974.
He is currently at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
where he is Professor of Biology and a member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research
McGovern Institute for Brain Research
The McGovern Institute for Brain Research is a research institute within MIT. Its mission is to understand how the brain works and to discover new ways to prevent or treat brain disorders...
. He is also an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Howard Hughes Medical Institute is a United States non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded by the American businessman Howard Hughes in 1953. It is one of the largest private funding organizations for biological and medical research in the United...
.
He currently serves as the chair of the board of trustees for Society for Science & the Public
Society for Science & the Public
Society for Science & the Public , formerly known as Science Service, is a 5013 non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of science, through its science education programs and publications, including the weekly Science News magazine.Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the organization...
.
Horvitz is a member of the USA Science and Engineering Festival
USA Science and Engineering Festival
USA Science and Engineering Festival was a science festival in Washington, D.C. that founder Larry Book deemed the country’s first national science festival. The inaugural event was held from October 10, 2010 through October 24, 2010 and was planned to be a yearly event. The two week festival...
's Advisory Board.
Awards
In 2000 he received the Louisa Gross Horwitz PrizeLouisa Gross Horwitz Prize
Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize for Biology or Biochemistry is an annual prize awarded by Columbia University to a researcher or group of researchers that have made an outstanding contribution in basic research in the fields of biology or biochemistry....
from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. That year he was also awarded the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology
March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology
The March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology is awarded once a year by the March of Dimes. It carries a $250,000 award "to an investigator whose research brings us closer to the day when all babies will be born healthy." It also includes a medal in the shape of a Roosevelt dime.- Laureates...
. Horvitz shared the 2002 Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
in Physiology or Medicine with Sydney Brenner
Sydney Brenner
Sydney Brenner, CH FRS is a South African biologist and a 2002 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate, shared with H...
and John Sulston. In 2009, he was named a Foreign member of the Royal Society.
See also
- ApoptosisApoptosisApoptosis is the process of programmed cell death that may occur in multicellular organisms. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes and death. These changes include blebbing, cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, chromatin condensation, and chromosomal DNA fragmentation...
, especially the section on "History and highlights in apoptosis research." - List of Jewish Nobel laureates
External links
- H. Robert Horvitz - Investigator page at HHMI
- H. Robert Horvitz - Curriculum Vitae
- H. Robert Horvitz - Autobiography
- H. Robert Horvitz iBioMagazine talk: "Discovering Programmed Cell Death"
- H. Robert Horvitz iBioMagazine talk: "When Stockholm Called"
- H. Robert Horvitz - US Patents
- The Official Site of Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize