Sir Paul Nurse

Sir Paul Maxime Nurse FRS 1949–present
Awarded (jointly) the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine 2001

  • British geneticist and cell biologist
  • Graduated from Birmingham in 1970 with a BSc in Biology
  • Groundbreaking researcher

Known for his work on cell cycle regulation, Sir Paul Nurse –

  • Received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his seminal discoveries at the molecular level of cell cycles
  • Enabled the development of new treatments and medicines for cancer through his studies and management of research teams
  • Discovered the gene that controls cell division through his postgraduate experiments on yeast

After doing much of his pioneering research in the 1980s, he joined the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) and became its Director General and Head of Cell Cycle Laboratory.

Sir Paul headed up the world’s largest volunteer-supported cancer research organisation, Cancer Research UK, when ICRF and The Cancer Research Campaign joined forces. He moved to the United States in 2003 to become President of The Rockefeller University.

He has won many awards, including the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences.

Sir Paul took up his post as President of the Royal Society in December 2010.

Sir Paul Nurse presented "Controlling the Cell Cycle" at the University of Birmingham's Inaugural Humphreys Lecture in October 2013, You can view the presenation via YouTube from the title link above.