Elizabeth Blackburn with her Curtin Medal, standing next to the bust of John Curtin.
Nobel Laureate and molecular biologist Professor Elizabeth Blackburn was today awarded the Curtin Medal for excellence in medical research at The John Curtin School of Medical Research. Professor Blackburn has a long and distinguished career as a molecular biologist and was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine in 2009. Professor Blackburn pioneered the study of telomeres, caps that protect chromosomes in cells, and is a discoverer of telomerase, an enzyme that does the protecting. Her work has opened a new field of science, raising the possibility of such medical breakthroughs as understanding the ageing process in cells and interfering with cancerous cells. Tasmanian-born Professor Blackburn completed a biochemistry masters at the University of Melbourne, before undertaking her PhD studies at the University of Cambridge. It was at Yale, as a postdoctoral fellow, that she discovered the nature of the telomere. Professor Blackburn has been with the University of California, San Francisco, for more than 30 years.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
