- In full:
- Harold Eliot Varmus
- Born:
- December 18, 1939, Oceanside, New York, U.S. (age 86)
- Awards And Honors:
- National Medal of Science (2001)
- Nobel Prize (1989)
Harold Varmus
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Who is Harold Varmus?
Harold Varmus, born in Oceanside, New York, in 1939, is an American virologist celebrated for his groundbreaking work on the origins of cancer. Varmus, along with J. Michael Bishop, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1989 for discovering oncogenes, normal genes that can cause cancer under certain conditions. Their research demonstrated that these genes, which control cell growth and division, can be triggered by viruses or carcinogens.
Varmus's career includes positions such as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1993 to 1999 and president of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He also founded the Public Library of Science (PLoS). In 2001, he received the National Medal of Science. He served as director of the NIH’s National Cancer Institute from 2010 to 2015 and then joined the faculty at Weill Cornell Medicine.
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What kind of scientist is Harold Varmus and what is his main field of research?
Harold Varmus is an American virologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1989 with J. Michael Bishop for discovering oncogenes. These genes, found in healthy cells, can cause cancer under certain conditions. Varmus and Bishop's research demonstrated that normal genes could cause cancer if viruses picked them up or chemical carcinogens affected them.
Varmus's work at the National Cancer Institute and the University of California, San Francisco, led to his recognition with the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award in 1982. He also served as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute.
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What major discovery is Harold Varmus known for?
Harold Varmus, along with J. Michael Bishop, is known for discovering that oncogenes (genes that can cause cancer) are derived from normal genes in healthy cells, called proto-oncogenes. Their Nobel Prize-winning research in the mid-1970s demonstrated that these proto-oncogenes, which usually control cell growth and division, can turn into cancer-causing oncogenes when affected by viruses or chemical carcinogens. This discovery superseded the previous theory that cancer is caused by viral genes distinct from a cell’s normal genetic material.
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How did Harold Varmus's research impact cancer studies?
Harold Varmus, along with J. Michael Bishop, revolutionized cancer research by discovering that oncogenes (genes that can cause cancer) originate from normal genes within healthy cells. This groundbreaking work, conducted in the mid-1970s, demonstrated that these genes, called proto-oncogenes, control cell growth and division but can turn cancerous when affected by viruses or carcinogens. Their research superseded the previous theory that cancer was caused by viral genes distinct from a cell’s normal genetic material. Varmus's work significantly advanced the understanding of the genetic origins of cancer.
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What award did Harold Varmus receive for his scientific achievements?
Harold Varmus received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1989, which he shared with J. Michael Bishop, for their discoveries concerning the origins of cancer. Their research demonstrated that oncogenes, which are normal genes in healthy cells, can cause cancer under certain conditions. These genes, which control cellular growth and division, can lead to cancer if affected by infecting viruses or chemical carcinogens. In 2001, Varmus also received the National Medal of Science for his oncogene research and efforts to revitalize scientific research in the United States. Additionally, in 1982, he was awarded the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for his molecular genetics investigations of cancer.
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What leadership roles has Harold Varmus held in the scientific community?
Harold Varmus, an American virologist and Nobel laureate, has held significant leadership roles in the scientific community. He directed the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1993 to 1999, where he successfully increased research funding. In 2000, Varmus became president of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He also founded the Public Library of Science (PLoS), promoting open access to scientific literature. From 2010 to 2015, he served as director of the NIH’s National Cancer Institute. Varmus has also been an adviser for Scientists and Engineers for America, advocating for science issues on a political level.
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Harold Varmus (born December 18, 1939, Oceanside, New York, U.S.) is an American virologist and cowinner (with J. Michael Bishop) of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1989 for his work on the origins of cancer.
Varmus graduated from Amherst (Massachusetts) College (B.A.) in 1961, from Harvard University (M.A.) in 1962, and from Columbia University, New York City (M.D.), in 1966. He then joined the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, where he studied bacteria. In 1970 he went to the University of California, San Francisco, as a postdoctoral fellow. There he and Bishop began the research that was to win them the Nobel Prize.
Varmus and Bishop found that, under certain circumstances, normal genes in healthy cells of the body can cause cancer; these genes are called oncogenes. Oncogenes ordinarily control cellular growth and division, but, if they are picked up by infecting viruses or affected by chemical carcinogens, they can be rendered capable of causing cancer. This research, carried out with the aid of colleagues Dominique Stehelin and Peter Vogt in the mid-1970s, superseded a theory that cancer is caused by viral genes, distinct from a cell’s normal genetic material, that lie dormant in body cells until activated by carcinogens.
Varmus remained on the faculty of the University of California, where he became a professor of biochemistry and biophysics in 1982. That same year he received an Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for his investigations into the molecular genetics of cancer. He was director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1993 to 1999, during which time he significantly increased the budget provided for research. In January 2000 Varmus was appointed president of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and he subsequently founded the Public Library of Science (PLoS), a nonprofit organization dedicated to making medical and scientific literature freely available to the public. Varmus was a leading supporter of open-access journals and an adviser for Scientists and Engineers for America, a community of researchers and medical doctors committed to calling attention to science issues on a political level. In 2010 Varmus left Sloan Kettering and became director of the NIH’s National Cancer Institute, where he served until 2015. That year he joined the faculty at Weill Cornell Medicine, part of Cornell University.
In addition to the Nobel Prize, Varmus was awarded the National Medal of Science (2001) for his work on oncogenes and for his work to revitalize scientific research in the United States. He published numerous research papers throughout his career, was a coauthor of Genes and the Biology of Cancer (1993; with Robert A. Weinberg), and a coeditor of Retroviruses (1997; with John M. Coffin and Stephen H. Hughes).