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The Quarterly Reviews of Biophysics has had the privilege of publishing work by authors who have gone on to receive the Nobel Prize. We acknowledge the significant contributions of all Nobel laureates who have shared their research in our journal and celebrate their impact on the field of biophysics and beyond.
John Hopfield - In 2024 Hopfield, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for "foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks." He has been awarded various major physics awards for his work in multidisciplinary fields including condensed matter physics, statistical physics and biophysics. He co-authored the paper; 'Allosteric Interpretation of Haemoglobin Properties'.
Jennifer Doudna - University of California, Berkeley, biochemist Jennifer Doudna won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, sharing it with colleague Emmanuelle Charpentier for the co-development of CRISPR-Cas9, a genome editing breakthrough that has revolutionized biomedicine.
Read an example of a paper authored by Jennifer Doudna here: 'Key role of the REC lobe during CRISPR–Cas9 activation by ‘sensing’, ‘regulating’, and ‘locking’ the catalytic HNH domain'
Frances Arnold (born July 25, 1956, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American chemical engineer who was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for her work on directed evolution of enzymes. She shared the prize with American biochemist George P. Smith and British biochemist Gregory P. Winter.
Read an example of a paper authored by, Frances Arnold here: 'The nature of chemical innovation: new enzymes by evolution'
Jacques Dubochet - In 2017, he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson "for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution".
Read an example of a paper authored by, Jacques Dubochet here: 'Cryo-electron microscopy of vitrified specimens'
Joachim Frank – Joachim is regarded as the founder of single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017 with Jacques Dubochet and Richard Henderson. He also made significant contributions to structure and function of the ribosome from bacteria and eukaryotes.
Read an example of a paper authored by, Joachim Frank here: 'Single-particle reconstruction of biological macromolecules in electron microscopy – 30 years'
Richard Henderson is a British molecular biologist and biophysicist and pioneer in the field of electron microscopy of biological molecules. Henderson shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017 with Jacques Dubochet and Joachim Frank.
Read an example of a paper authored by, Richard Henderson here: 'Single particle electron cryomicroscopy: trends, issues and future perspective'
Stefan Hell - Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2014. Stefan Hell received the Nobel Prize for developing super-resolved fluorescence microscopy. He is a director at the Max Planck Institutes for both Biophysical Chemistry and Medical Research.
Read an example of a paper authored by, Stefan Hell here: 'Lens-based fluorescence nanoscopy'
Arieh Warshel (born November 20, 1940, Kibbutz Sde-Nahum, Palestine [later Israel]) is an American Israeli chemist who was awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for developing accurate computer models of chemical reactions that were able to use features of both classical physics and quantum mechanics.
Read an example of a paper authored by, Arieh Warshel here: 'Torque, chemistry and efficiency in molecular motors: a study of the rotary–chemical coupling in F1-ATPase'
Thomas Steitz - In 2009, Steitz was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his ribosome research. He was also a Macy Fellow at the University of Göttingen during 1976–1977 and a Fairchild Scholar at the California Institute of Technology during 1984–1985.
Read an example of a paper authored by, Thomas Steitz here: 'Structural studies of protein–nucleic acid interaction: the sources of sequence-specific binding'
Roger Kornberg - The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences today awarded Roger Kornberg, PhD, of the Stanford University School of Medicine, the 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in understanding how DNA is converted into RNA, a process known as transcription.
Read an example of a paper authored by Roger Kornberg here: 'Chromatin-remodeling for transcription'
Andrew Zachary Fire (born April 27, 1959) is an American biologist and professor of pathology and of genetics at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He was awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with Craig C. Mello, for the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi).
Read an example of a paper authored by, Andrew Fire here: 'Nucleic acid structure and intracellular immunity: some recent ideas from the world of RNAi'
Kurt Wüthrich (born October 4, 1938, Aarberg, Switzerland) is a Swiss scientist who, with John B. Fenn and Tanaka Koichi, won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2002 for developing techniques to identify and analyze proteins and other large biological molecules.
Read an example of a paper authored by Kurt Wüthrich here: 'Heteronuclear filters in two-dimensional [1H, 1H]-NMR spectroscopy: combined use with isotope labelling for studies of macromolecular conformation and intermolecular interactions'
John E Walker - A leading figure in the world of biochemistry, John received the 1997 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and was knighted for his services to science in 1999. Amongst his numerous other accolades, he has received the Biochemical Society's Keilin Medal, as well as the 2012 Copley Medal of the Royal Society.
Read an example of a paper authored by John E Walker here: 'The NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) of respiratory chains'
Jens Christian Skou was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1997 for the discovery of the sodium-potassium pump – an enzyme that transports sodium and potassium through the cell membrane.
Read an example of a paper authored by Jens Christian Skou here: 'The (Na+ +K+) activated enzyme system and its relationship to transport of sodium and potassium'
Rudolph Marcus - In 1992, Marcus received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for his contributions to the theory of electron transfer reactions in chemical systems,” which are fundamental reactions that underlie a plethora of chemical and biological processes.
Read an example of a paper authored by Rudolph Marcus here: 'What can be learned about the enzyme ATPase from single-molecule studies of its subunit F1?'
Richard Ernst (born August 14, 1933, Winterthur, Switzerland—died June 4, 2021, Winterthur) was a Swiss chemist and teacher who in 1991 won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his development of techniques for high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.
Read an example of a paper authored by Richard Ernst here: 'Methodology of magnetic resonance imaging'
Sir Aaron Klug (born August 11, 1926, Želva, Lithuania—died November 20, 2018) was a Lithuanian-born British chemist who was awarded the 1982 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his investigations of the three-dimensional structure of viruses and other particles that are combinations of nucleic acids and proteins and for the development of crystallographic electron microscopy.
Read an example of a paper authored by Sir Aaron Klug here: 'The discovery of zinc fingers and their development for practical applications in gene regulation and genome manipulation'
Ilya Prigogine (born Jan. 25, 1917, Moscow, Russia—died May 28, 2003, Brussels, Belg.) was a Russian-born Belgian physical chemist who received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1977 for contributions to nonequilibrium thermodynamics.
Read an example of a paper authored by Ilya Prigogine here: 'Biological order, structure and instabilities'
Manfred Eigen (born May 9, 1927, Bochum, Germany—died February 6, 2019) was a German physicist who was corecipient, with Ronald George Wreyford Norrish and George Porter, of the 1967 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for work on extremely rapid chemical reactions.
Read an example of a paper authored by Manfred Eigen here: 'Molecular self-organization and the early stages of evolution'
Drew Weissman - Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023 “for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19”
Richard Henderson is a British molecular biologist and biophysicist and pioneer in the field of electron microscopy of biological molecules. Henderson shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017 with Jacques Dubochet and Joachim Frank.
Read another example of a paper authored by Richard Henderson here: 'Structures of membrane proteins'
Yoshinori Ohsumi - During the 1990s, Ohsumi's group described the morphology of autophagy in yeast, and performed mutational screening on yeast cells that identified essential genes for cells to be capable of autophagy. In 2016, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy".
Arieh Warshel (born November 20, 1940, Kibbutz Sde-Nahum, Palestine [later Israel]) is an American Israeli chemist who was awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for developing accurate computer models of chemical reactions that were able to use features of both classical physics and quantum mechanics.
Read another example of a paper authored by Arieh Warshel here: 'Why nature really chose phosphate'
Ada Yonath (born June 22, 1939, Jerusalem) is an Israeli protein crystallographer who was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, along with Indian-born American physicist and molecular biologist Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and American biophysicist and biochemist Thomas Steitz, for her research into the atomic structure and function of cellular particles called ribosomes. (Ribosomes are tiny particles made up of RNA and proteins that specialize in protein synthesis and are found free or bound to the endoplasmic reticulum within cells.)
Jack Szostak, a genetics professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), has won the 2009 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for pioneering work in the discovery of telomerase, an enzyme that protects chromosomes from degrading.
Roger Tsien - was a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008 for his discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, in collaboration with organic chemist Osamu Shimomura and neurobiologist Martin Chalfie.
Roderick MacKinnon (born February 19, 1956, Burlington, Massachusetts, U.S.) is an American doctor, corecipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2003 for his pioneering research on ion channels in cell membranes. He shared the award with Peter Agre, also of the United States.
Michael Levitt (born May 9, 1947, Pretoria, South Africa) is an American British Israeli chemist who was awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for developing accurate computer models of chemical reactions that were able to use features of both classical physics and quantum mechanics.
Peter Agre, M.D., received the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of what he called the aquaporin proteins, which form the channels that enable water to flow in and out of cells. Agre shares the award with Roderick MacKinnon of Rockefeller University.
Kurt Wüthrich (born October 4, 1938, Aarberg, Switzerland) is a Swiss scientist who, with John B. Fenn and Tanaka Koichi, won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2002 for developing techniques to identify and analyze proteins and other large biological molecules.
Read another example of a paper authored by Kurt Wüthrich here: 'Nuclear magnetic resonance – from molecules to man'
Barry Sharpless discovered a reaction called the Sharpless Epoxidation. At the time of his winning the Nobel Prize in 2001 for his work within the field asymmetric oxidations, the chemist shared the out-sized role that his Dartmouth education played in steering him towards a field that he would eventually lead.
Phillip Sharp - American molecular biologist Phillip Allen Sharp received the 1993 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for his discovery of “split genes.” He found that these genes are the most common type of gene structure in higher organisms, including humans.