Alexander Varshavsky
Encyclopedia
Alexander Varshavsky is a Russian-American biochemist and recipient of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
, the Wolf Prize in Medicine
and the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
from Columbia University
in 2001 for his research on ubiquitin
ation. He is currently researching at Caltech.
He is noted for his discovery of the N-end rule
of ubiquitination.
In 2006 he won the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology
and he won the 2007 $1 million Gotham Prize for an original approach to killing cancer cells. Alexander Varshavsky proffered the idea of a targeted molecular device that could enter a cell, examine it for DNA deletions specific to cancer and killing it if it meets the right profile. "(It) involves, in a nutshell, the finding of a genuine Achilles Heel of cancer cells, i.e., their potentially vulnerable feature that won't change during tumor progression," said Varshavsky.
The approach termed deletion-specific targeting (DST), employs HDs (homozygous DNA deletions) as the targets of cancer therapy. "In contrast to other attributes of cancer cells, their HDs are immutable markers." "If the DST strategy can be implemented in a clinical setting, it may prove to be both curative and free of side effects."
Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
The Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research is one of the prizes awarded by the Lasker Foundation for the understanding, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and cure of disease...
, the Wolf Prize in Medicine
Wolf Prize in Medicine
The Wolf Prize in Medicine is awarded once a year by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Arts. The Prize is probably the third most prestigious award...
and the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
Louisa 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...
in 2001 for his research on ubiquitin
Ubiquitin
Ubiquitin is a small regulatory protein that has been found in almost all tissues of eukaryotic organisms. Among other functions, it directs protein recycling.Ubiquitin can be attached to proteins and label them for destruction...
ation. He is currently researching at Caltech.
He is noted for his discovery of the N-end rule
N-end rule
The N-end rule is a rule related to ubiquitination, discovered by Alexander Varshavsky in 1986. The rule, which states that the nature of the N-terminal amino acids of a protein is an important factor that governs its half-life , is applicable to both eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms, but with...
of ubiquitination.
In 2006 he won 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...
and he won the 2007 $1 million Gotham Prize for an original approach to killing cancer cells. Alexander Varshavsky proffered the idea of a targeted molecular device that could enter a cell, examine it for DNA deletions specific to cancer and killing it if it meets the right profile. "(It) involves, in a nutshell, the finding of a genuine Achilles Heel of cancer cells, i.e., their potentially vulnerable feature that won't change during tumor progression," said Varshavsky.
The approach termed deletion-specific targeting (DST), employs HDs (homozygous DNA deletions) as the targets of cancer therapy. "In contrast to other attributes of cancer cells, their HDs are immutable markers." "If the DST strategy can be implemented in a clinical setting, it may prove to be both curative and free of side effects."