The 2017 Nobel Prize in medicine being awarded to three scientists for their work in discovering the molecular mechanisms controlling the body’s circadian rhythms. So it is no surprise that this year, the World Sleep Day gives a ‘healthy’ nod towards their work with the theme of ‘preserve your rhythms to enjoy life’.
The three scientists:
Jeffrey C. Hall received his doctorate in 1971 from the University of Washington. He joined the faculty at Brandeis University in 1974 and is now a professor emeritus of biology.
Michael Rosbash received his doctorate in 1970 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since 1974, he has been on the faculty at Brandeis University, where he is a professor of biology and holds an endowed chair in neuroscience.
Michael W. Young received his doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin in 1975. He is a professor of genetics at Rockefeller University in New York.
The New York times has quoted some fellow scientists re. their winning of the award:
“The field had long been speculating on this Nobel Prize. This is great recognition for the field of circadian rhythms that are intimately linked to our health and disease, including diabetes, obesity, cancer and cardiovascular disease.”
— Dr. Frank A.J.L. Scheer, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Medical Chronobiology Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
“It is fabulous to see the foundational discoveries of this trio recognized in this richly deserved and long overdue Nobel Prize.”
— James E. Rothman, professor of cell biology at Yale University, who won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on how molecular messages are transmitted inside and outside of human cells
“Michael is a truly great scientist who has done much very fine work. His discovery of the 24-hour cycling of a clock protein provided the basis for all following work in the critical field of chronobiology and was definitely work that deserved a Nobel Prize.”
— David Baltimore, professor of biology at Caltech and winner of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1975
To read about World Sleep Day, or to get involved:
