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U of M presents honorary degree to Nobel Laureate in cancer research
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL ( 7/25/2007 ) -- Sir Paul Nurse, who won the 2001 Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine for research that revealed how normal cells are transformed into cancer cells, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota on Thursday, Aug. 2. Nurse, who is now president of Rockefeller University, will receive the degree after delivering a lecture to honor Paul T. (Pete) Magee, professor of genetics, cell biology and development and former dean of the College of Biological Sciences and his wife Beatrice (Bebe) Magee for their years of service to the University of Minnesota. The lecture, "The Great ideas of Biology" will be delivered at 1:30 p.m. in the Mayo Auditorium, 425 Delaware St. S.E., Minneapolis. A man of humble circumstances (his father was a chauffeur and his mother a cook), Nurse was educated at public schools in England. After earning his doctorate degree at the University of East Anglia, and conducting postdoctoral research in Edinburgh and the University of Sussex, he joined the Imperial Cancer Research Fund as head of the cell cycle laboratory. It was there he made the discovery that led to his Nobel Prize; namely, that all cells divide under a series of complex controls and that those controls are identical in organisms as different as yeast and humans. The lack of control of cell division is what differentiates cancer cells from normal cells. The discovery provided insights into aspects of vulnerability of cancer cells and led to new types of drugs. His next move was to Oxford University, where he spent six years as a researcher and administrator before returning to the Imperial Cancer Research Fund as Director of Research. He has been president of Rockefeller University since 2003. In addition to the Nobel Prize, Nurse has won many prestigious international awards, including the Albert Lasker Award from the United States. In 1999, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth for his contributions to cancer research. Despite his achievements and accolades, Nurse has remained a very down-to-earth man who "takes time to visit with everyone," according to one colleague. He is known as an entertaining speaker and raconteur. Magee, who spent a sabbatical in 1985 in Nurse's lab, is retiring from the University of Minnesota following a distinguished career as a researcher and administrator. ---------- |
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