Sir Paul Nurse

The Rockefeller University, New York, USA

Paul Nurse Picture Sir Paul Nurse, who shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, became president of The Rockefeller University in September 2003. He had previously served as Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, the largest cancer research organization in the world outside the United States. Paul Nurse is noted for his discoveries concerning the molecular machinery that regulates the cell cycle, the process by which a cell copies its genetic material and then divides to form two cells.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, Paul Nurse has received the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, the Gairdner Foundation International Award and the Royal Society’s Wellcome, Royal and Copley medals amongst other scientific awards. A fellow of the Royal Society, he is a founding member of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a foreign member of the US National Academy of Sciences. He was knighted in 1999 and received France’s Légion d’Honneur in 2002. He plays an active role in science and society issues and makes regular TV appearances including as a co-host for a science series on America’s Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).