Breakthrough Prize 2017: Winners

Recipients

1. Harry F. Noller

   Biology

   for discovering the centrality of RNA in forming the active centers of the ribosome, the fundamental machinery of protein synthesis in all cells, thereby connecting modern biology to the origin of life and also explaining how many natural antibiotics disrupt protein synthesis.

2. Huda Zoghbi

   Biology

   for discoveries of the genetic causes and biochemical mechanisms of spinocerebellar ataxia and Rett syndrome, findings that have provided insight into the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative and neurological diseases.

3. Roel Nusse

   Biology

   for pioneering research on the Wnt pathway, one of the crucial intercellular signaling systems in development, cancer and stem cell biology.

4. Stephen Elledge

   Biology

   for elucidating how eukaryotic cells sense and respond to damage in their DNA and providing insights into the development and treatment of cancer.

5. Yoshinori Ohsumi

   Biology

   for elucidating autophagy, the recycling system that cells use to generate nutrients from their own inessential or damaged components.