Carol Prives facts for kids

Professor Carol L. Prives is a very important scientist. She is known for her work on a special protein called p53. This protein helps stop cancer from growing in our bodies. Sadly, p53 often changes (or "mutates") in people who have cancer. Professor Prives works as a professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia University. She is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences, which is a big honor for scientists.

Education and Early Career

Professor Prives studied in Canada. She earned her first two degrees, a Bachelor of Science (BSc) and a PhD, from McGill University in 1966. After that, she continued her research with special fellowships. She worked at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Weizmann Institute. Later, she became a professor at the Weizmann Institute. In 2014, McGill University gave her another special degree. This was to celebrate her amazing contributions to understanding p53.

Research on Cancer and Genes

In 1995, Professor Prives became a top professor at Columbia University. She even led the Department of Biological Sciences there from 2000 to 2004. Early in her career, she studied a virus called SV40. This virus helped her learn how genes work in living things. It also showed her how some viruses can cause cancer.

Since the late 1980s, her main research has focused on the p53 gene. This gene is often changed in human cancers. Her lab has done a lot of work to understand how p53 helps protect us from cancer.

Professor Prives has also helped guide other important science groups. She was a leader for study sections at the National Institutes of Health. She also served on advisory boards for major cancer research centers. These include the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She was also on the board of directors for the American Association for Cancer Research.

She helps decide what articles get published in important science magazines. These include Cell and Oncogene.

Awards and Honors

Professor Prives has received many awards for her important work. These awards recognize her contributions to science and understanding cancer.

• 1996: NIH MERIT Award
• 2000: Elected Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 2001: Elected Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology
• 2005: Elected Member, Institute of Medicine
• 2008: Elected Member, National Academy of Sciences
• 2009: Rosalind E. Franklin Award for Women in Science, National Cancer Institute
• 2010: Paul Janssen Prize in Biotechnology and Medicine
• 2011: AACR-Women in Cancer Research Charlotte Friend Memorial Lectureship
• 2015: Elected Fellow, AACR Academy
• 2020: Elected Fellow, The Royal Society
• 2021: Recipient of AACR-G.H.A. Clowes Award for Outstanding Basic Cancer Research