H. Robert Horvitz facts for kids

Howard Robert Horvitz (born May 8, 1947) is an American biologist. He won the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He shared this prize with Sydney Brenner and John E. Sulston. They won for their important discoveries about how genes control how organs develop. They also found out about "programmed cell death." This research is very important for understanding many diseases.

About Robert Horvitz

Early Life and Education

Robert Horvitz was born in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were Mary R. (Savit) and Oscar Freedom Horvitz. His mother was a school teacher. His father worked as an accountant.

He first studied mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). During his summers, he worked for IBM. He helped develop computer systems there.

In his last year at MIT, he took his first biology classes. His professors encouraged him to study biology more. After finishing college in 1968, he went to Harvard University. There, he earned his PhD in 1974. He studied how a type of virus affects bacteria.

His Career in Science

In 1974, Horvitz moved to Cambridge, England. He worked at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB). There, he joined Sydney Brenner and John Sulston. They all studied a tiny worm called Caenorhabditis elegans. They looked at its genes and how its cells developed.

In 1978, Horvitz became a professor at MIT. He is now a Professor of Biology there. He is also part of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research. He also works as an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Horvitz helps lead the Society for Science & the Public. This group helps young people get involved in science. He also advises the USA Science and Engineering Festival.

Amazing Discoveries in Research

At LMB, Horvitz worked with John Sulston. They carefully watched every cell division in the C. elegans worm. They published a full description of how these cells developed in 1977.

Later, Horvitz, Sulston, and Martin Chalfie looked for genes that control cell development. In 1981, they found a gene called lin-4. This gene changed the timing of how cells developed.

When Horvitz started at MIT, he kept studying cell development. He used the C. elegans worm to learn about "programmed cell death." This is also called apoptosis. It's when a cell is told to "self-destruct" in a controlled way. This is a normal and important process in living things.

In 1986, he found the first "death genes." These were called ced-3 and ced-4. He showed that these genes were needed for cells to die in a programmed way. He also found another gene, ced-9. This gene protects cells from dying. He also found genes that help remove dead cells. Horvitz showed that humans have a gene similar to ced-3.

Horvitz's later research continued to use C. elegans. He studied how genes control animal development and behavior. He also linked his discoveries in the worm to human diseases. These include cancer and brain diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

He found more details about how programmed cell death works. He identified key parts of this process. He also worked on other aspects of cell development. Horvitz has worked with other scientists to study tiny molecules called microRNAs in the C. elegans worm.

Awards and Honors

Robert Horvitz has received many awards for his scientific work. Some of his most important honors include:

• 1988: U.S. Steel Foundation Award in Molecular Biology
• 1991: Became a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences
• 1994: Became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 2000: March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology
• 2002: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• 2002: Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences
• 2002: Gruber Prize in Genetics
• 2009: Elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society

See also

• History of apoptosis research
• List of Jewish Nobel laureates