1 | Name: | Dr. Thomas R. Cech | |
Institution: | University of Colorado, Boulder; Howard Hughes Medical Institute | ||
Year Elected: | 2001 | ||
Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
Subdivision: | 201. Molecular Biology and Biochemistry | ||
Residency: | Resident | ||
Living? : | Living | ||
Birth Date: | 1947 | ||
Tom Cech is one of the world's leading biochemists and the discoverer of the enzymatic activity of RNA, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1989. He is a marvelous teacher, dedicated to education at all levels, and a distinguished spokesman for science. President of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) from 2000-2009, Dr. Cech is presently an HHMI investigator serving on the faculties of the University of Colorado (since 1978) and the Health Sciences Center, Denver (since 1988). He is the recipient of the Gairdner Foundation International Award (1988); the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize (1988); the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award (1988); and the National Medal of Science (1995) and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (1987); the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (1988); and the Institute of Medicine (2000). |