Victor Ambros facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Victor Ambros
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Ambros in 2024
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| Born | December 1, 1953 Hanover, New Hampshire, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS, PhD) |
| Known for | Discovery of microRNA |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biology |
| Institutions | M.I.T. Center for Cancer Research (1975–1976) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1976–1979) Harvard University (1985–1992) Dartmouth College (1992–2001) Dartmouth Medical School (2001–2007) University of Massachusetts Medical School (2008–) |
| Thesis | The protein covalently linked to the 5'-end of poliovirus RNA (1979) |
| Doctoral advisor | David Baltimore |
Victor R. Ambros (born December 1, 1953) is an American scientist who studies how living things grow and develop. He is famous for finding the very first microRNA (miRNA). MicroRNAs are tiny molecules inside our cells that help control how our bodies work.
Victor Ambros is a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He earned both his first degree and his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2024, he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his amazing discovery about microRNA.
Contents
About Victor Ambros
Early Life and School
Victor Ambros was born in New Hampshire, USA. His father, Longin, was a refugee from Poland. Victor grew up on a small dairy farm in Hartland, Vermont, with seven brothers and sisters. He went to Woodstock Union High School.
He studied biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1975. Then, he completed his PhD in biology in 1979. His main teacher for his PhD was David Baltimore, who also won a Nobel Prize in 1975. After his PhD, Ambros continued his research at MIT. He worked with H. Robert Horvitz, who later also won a Nobel Prize.
His Career in Science
In 1984, Victor Ambros became a professor at Harvard University. While he was there, he made his big discovery about microRNA. However, Harvard decided not to offer him a permanent position at that time.
Later, in 1992, Ambros joined Dartmouth College. In 2008, he moved to the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Today, he is known as the Silverman Professor of Natural Sciences. This special title was created by one of his former students, Howard Scott Silverman.
Discovering MicroRNA
Victor Ambros's most important work was finding microRNA. These tiny molecules play a huge role in how our bodies develop and function.
How He Found MicroRNA
In 1993, Ambros and his team, including Rosalind Lee and Rhonda Feinbaum, shared their discovery in a science journal called Cell. They found tiny RNA molecules in a small worm called C. elegans. This worm is often used in labs to study biology because it's simple and easy to grow.
Before this, Ambros and his colleague Horvitz had studied a gene in C. elegans called lin-4. They knew lin-4 was important for the worm's normal growth. If lin-4 didn't work right, the worm's development would be off.
Ambros and his team found that lin-4 didn't make a protein, which was a surprise. Instead, it made two small RNA molecules. One was 22 units long, and the other was 61 units long. They called the shorter one lin-4S. They realized that lin-4S could connect to another RNA molecule that makes a protein called LIN-14. This connection helped control how much LIN-14 protein was made.
The Importance of His Discovery
In 2000, another small RNA molecule, called let-7, was found in C. elegans. Scientists discovered that let-7 was also found in many other animals, including humans. These discoveries proved that Ambros had found a whole new group of tiny RNA molecules. We now call them microRNA.
MicroRNAs are like tiny switches that can turn genes on or off, or control how much protein a gene makes. This process is called "post-transcriptional gene regulation." It means they control genes after the first step of making a protein. This discovery changed how scientists understand gene control and development.
In 2007, Victor Ambros was chosen to be part of the United States National Academy of Sciences. This is a very high honor for scientists. In 2024, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Gary Ruvkun. They won for finding microRNA and understanding how it controls genes.
Awards and Honors
Victor Ambros has received many important awards for his groundbreaking work:
- 2002: Newcomb Cleveland Prize
- 2004: Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award
- 2006: Genetics Society of America Medal
- 2007: Elected to the National Academy of Sciences
- 2008: Gairdner Foundation International Award
- 2008: Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science
- 2008: Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
- 2009: Dickson Prize
- 2009: Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
- 2009: Massry Prize
- 2012: Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research
- 2013: Keio Medical Science Prize
- 2014: Gruber Prize in Genetics
- 2014: Wolf Prize in Medicine
- 2015: Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
- 2016: March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology
- 2024: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
See also
In Spanish: Victor Ambros para niños
