Biography
Gregg Leonard Semenza (born July 12, 1956) is an American pediatrician and Professor of Genetic Medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine . He serves as the director of the vascular program at the Institute for Cell Engineering. [ 1 ] He is a 2016 recipient of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research . [ 2 ] He is known for his discovery of HIF-1 , which allows cancer cells to adapt to oxygen-poor environments. He shared the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for "discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability" with William Kaelin Jr. and Peter J. Ratcliffe . [ 3 ] [ 4 ] Semenza has had thirteen research papers retracted due to issues such as duplicated images and potential data manipulation. [ 5 ] Semenza was born on July 12, 1956, [ 6 ] in Flushing , New York City; he and his four siblings grew up in Westchester County, New York . [ 7 ] His father's family was of Italian descent whereas his mother's family was of German-English-Irish descent. [ 8 ] Semenza grew up in Westchester County, New York and attended Washington Irving Intermediate School in Tarrytown, New York . He then attended Sleepy Hollow High School where he was a mid-fielder on the soccer team and graduated in 1974. [ 7 ] As an undergraduate at Harvard University , he studied medical genetics and mapped genes on chromosome 21. [ 7 ] For his MD-PhD at the University of Pennsylvania , he sequenced genes linked to the recessive genetic disorder, beta-thalassemia . [ 7 ] [ 9 ] [ 10 ] Semenza subsequently completed his Pediatrics residency at Duke University [ 11 ] before completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University . [ 7 ] Semenza became the founding director of the Vascular Program at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Cell Engineering following his post-doctorate. [ 7 ] Education: Harvard University AB University of Pennsylvania MD PhD
About the Lasker Award
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 (a medical research activist). The awards are sometimes referred to as "America's Nobels."
Quick Facts
- Award: Lasker Award - Basic Medical Research
- Added: 2026-02-07
- Source: Wikipedia
- Established: 1946
- Presented by: Lasker Foundation