Albert Lasker
Basic Medical Research Award
Thomas Cech
For his revolutionary research revealing the enzymatic role of RNA, opening a new universe in molecular biology.
In a single stroke of discovery, Dr. Cech overthrew the established dogma that any biological substance that acts as a catalyst in breaking or forming chemical bonds must, by definition, be a protein. These substances, essential to all life, are known as enzymes.
Dr. Cech had set out to identify the enzyme presumed to be responsible for deleting unnecessary sequences from the RNA copy of a particular gene, and rejoining the remaining portions to form a smaller, edited version.
He and his co-workers began to prepare many copies of the original, large RNA segments in order to isolate the enzyme supposedly at work. While incubating the RNA, Dr. Cech found that these molecules were being cut and reassembled into smaller, working copies, even though no protein was present in the system.
In two years of rigorous and disciplined work, Dr. Cech sought for flaws in his system which might account for the findings. He proved beyond doubt that no proteins, and, therefore, no conventional enzymes were present, and that the RNA itself was acting as an enzyme. Dr. Cech named this enzymatic piece of RNA the "ribozyme."
Dr. Cech's discovery, and his conscientious follow-up studies, inspired a burst of research on RNA, and have prompted the speculation that this remarkable molecule might have acted as a bridge between the non-living, pre-biotic world and the beginnings of life on Earth.
To Dr. Cech, for his revolutionary research revealing the enzymatic role of RNA, opening a new universe for research in molecular biology, this 1988 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award is given.
Phillip Sharp
For his series of revelations regarding the ability of RNA processing to convert DNA's massive store of genetic data to biological use.
Through his original discovery that the genetic information in DNA is interspersed with apparently meaningless sequences known as "introns," Dr. Sharp recognized that this information needs to be edited into useful form before the cell's machinery can follow genetic instructions.
In an elegant series of experiments using cells infected with adenovirus, Dr. Sharp and his colleagues discovered that after an RNA copy is made from a DNA sequence, the introns are discarded from the RNA, leaving behind the portions carrying the meaningful genetic information. With astonishing precision, these fragments then splice themselves together to form a single coherent unit of RNA, which carries the precise information needed for the cell's protein-making apparatus.
Since these findings were published in 1977, the availability of recombinant DNA methods has made it possible for Dr. Sharp and other investigators to pursue detailed research on the way in which genetic information is processed at the RNA level.
Dr. Sharp also developed the most widely used method of RNA mapping. In a number of generous and inspiring collaborations with others, he investigated the small particles of RNA present in the nuclei of cells and demonstrated that these particles are involved in the splicing process.
The processing activities of RNA are so fundamental to life that no area of medicine or biology will be untouched by the implications of Dr. Sharp's research.
To Dr. Sharp, for his series of revelations regarding the ability of RNA processing to convert DNA's massive store of genetic data to biological use, this 1988 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award is given.