Let’s Discuss our Two Nobels in Chemistry

One of the most prestigious awards, the Nobel Prize was given to two Department of Biochemistry faculty. In 2015, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry & HHMI Investigator, Paul Modrich, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Over four decades and with the help of many industrious students and postdocs, he uncovered the mechanistic basis for DNA mismatch repair. Since receiving the prize, Dr. Modrich has continued his research and was honored by then Vice-President Joe Biden for “his groundbreaking cancer research” as part of the “Cancer Moonshot” initiative.

Dr. Robert Lefkowitz, James B. Duke Professor of Medicine & Professor of Biochemistry, won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for revealing the molecular understanding of an important family of G protein-coupled receptors. He led his students, postdocs, and clinical fellows to examine the biochemical basis and inner workings of this vast protein group. His work has had an impact on clinical medicine and the development of prescription drugs that target receptors discovered by him and his trainees.