T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y
The Chronicle
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012
WWW.DUKECHRONICLE.COM
ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTH YEAR, ISSUE 36
A NOBEL FIRST
FAITH ROBERTSON/ THE CHRONICLE
Dr. Robert Lefkowitz, James B. Duke professor of medicine, celebrates his Nobel Prize in chemistry with Dr. Ralph Snyderman, chancellor emeritus for health affairs. The prize was announced Wednesday morning.
Applied science Dr. Robert Lefkowitz’s research has advanced drug therapies by giving pharmaceutical companies greater insight on how to target certain receptors on the surface of cells.
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Lefkowitz revels in his most recent accomplishment—winning the Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Lefkowitz becomes Duke’s first standing faculty member to win the Nobel Prize by Danielle Muoio THE CHRONICLE
Four decades of scientific pursuit led Dr. Robert Lefkowitz down the East Coast to a Nobel Prize in chemistry. Lefkowitz, James B. Duke professor of medicine and professor of biochemistry and immunology, is the first standing faculty member to receive a Nobel Prize. The Royal Swedish Academy of Science awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry early Wednesday morning to Lefkowitz and his colleague, Dr. Brian Kobilka—a former postdoctoral fellow at Duke who worked under Lefkowitz—for “studies of G protein-coupled receptors.” Their research on these receptors has led to major advancements in the development of prescription drugs for a variety of issues, ranging from allergies to coronary disease. Prior to his research, few scientists believed in the existence of G protein-coupled receptors, Lefkowitz said. But despite the scientific community’s skepticism, Lefkowitz decided to pursue his research, al-
lowing him to isolate these receptors, clone their genes and learn about their structures. “In a very real sense, this is our accomplishment,” Lefkowitz said, referring to the Duke community. “I came here in 1973 and Duke was not the powerhouse in ’73 that it is today, but throughout every stage, I couldn’t imagine leaving.” G protein-coupled receptors are embedded in the cell membrane. They catch external chemical signals that provide information to the cell about changes in the body. About 30 to 50 percent of pharmaceutical drugs on the market attach onto these receptors like a “lock and key,” Lefkowitz said. In doing so, the drugs are able to manipulate the cells in a way that treats the patient’s condition. The hope is that this research will allow for the development of increasingly effective drug therapies. A long journey As a student at the Bronx High School of Science, Lefkowitz grew SEE NOBEL ON PAGE 4
Trianglelaureates Although Dr. Robert Lefkowitz is the first standing Duke professor to win a Nobel Prize, he is one of several Nobel laureates with Duke and Triangle area connections. 1964—Charles Townes, Graduate School ’36, won the physics prize for his work on quantum electronics while working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1988—The late Gertrude Elion and George Hitchings of the Wellcome Research Laboratories in Research Triangle Park won the prize for physiology or medicine for their discoveries of important principles for drug treatment. Elion and Hitchings were also adjunct faculty at the School of Medicine. 1989—Hans Dehmelt developed a method for trapping ions, for which he was awarded the physics prize. As a postdoctoral student in the 1950s, he worked in Duke’s physics department. 1994—The late Martin Rodbell won the prize in physiology or medicine in 1994 for the discovery of G-proteins as well as the role they play in signal transduction in cells. He worked in Research Triangle Park for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. 1996—Robert Richardson, Graduate School ’65, won the prize in physics for discoveries regarding superfluidity while working at Cornell University. 2003—Peter Agre, former vice chancellor for science and technology at Duke Medicine, won the chemistry prize while at Johns Hopkins University for his research on water channels in cells. 2007—Oliver Smithies, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, won the prize in physiology or medicine for his work on introducing gene modification in mice by using embryonic stem cells. —Compiled by The News & Observer and Duke News