Alfred G. Knudson

Alfred George Knudson, Jr. (born August 9, 1922 in Los Angeles , California - † July 10, 2016 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) was an American geneticist and oncologist . His most important contribution in this area is the Knudson hypothesis named after him , which deals with the effect of mutations on the development of cancer.

Knudson received his BS from the California Institute of Technology in 1944 and his MD from Columbia University three years later . From 1953 to 1954 he was a fellow of the Guggenheim Foundation, in 1956 he received his doctorate at CalTech in the subjects of biochemistry and genetics. He then worked as a pediatrician in California and New York City , from 1976 to 1982 he worked at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia as director of the Institute for Cancer Research.

In the 1950s, research on cancer focused on looking for possible environmental influences. Knudson, on the other hand, devoted himself to the hereditary forms of cancer that already occur in small children, especially hereditary retinoblastoma , which typically occurs before the age of five. He published his analysis of the genetic basis of cancer - known as the Knudson hypothesis - in 1971.

He has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including the Charles S. Mott Prize in 1988, the William Allan Award in 1991, the Charles Rodolphe Brupbacher Prize for cancer research together with Robert A. Weinberg in 1995, the Pasarow Award in 1995, and a Canada Gairdner International Award in 1997, the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research in 1998 and a Kyoto Prize in 2004 . In 1999 he received the "Distinguished Career Award" from the American Society of Pediatric Hematology / Oncology (ASPHO) and in 2005 the "Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research" from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Knudson had been a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1988, a member of the American Philosophical Society since 1991, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1993 .

Knudsons initiative it was thanks to them that Irwin Rose , together with his Israeli counterpart Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko the from the end of the 1970s ubiquitin -controlled protein - degradation could explore what they jointly awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded.

literature

Carlo M. Croce : Alfred G. Knudson (1922-2016). In: Nature . Volume 536, No. 7617, 2016, p. 397, doi: 10.1038 / 536397a

Web links

Commons : Alfred G. Knudson - collection of images, videos and audio files

Alfred G. Knudson (1922-2016). Obituary in: Cell . Volume 166, 2016, pp. 785-786

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b Edward B. Lewis: A tribute to Alfred G. Knudson. In: Genes, Chromosomes & Cancer . Volume 38, No. 4, 2003, pp. 292-293, doi: 10.1002 / gcc.10251 . PMID 14566845
^ Alfred G. Knudson Biography . Fox Chase Cancer Center. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
^ Alfred G. Knudson jr .: Mutation and cancer: statistical study of retinoblastoma. In: PNAS . Volume 68, No. 4, 1971, pp. 820-823, full text (PDF) , PMID 5279523 .

personal data
SURNAME	Knudson, Alfred G.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Knudson, Alfred George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American geneticist and cancer researcher
DATE OF BIRTH	August 9, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH	Los Angeles , California
DATE OF DEATH	July 10, 2016
Place of death	Philadelphia , Pennsylvania

[Lewis_2003-1] A ^b Edward B. Lewis: A tribute to Alfred G. Knudson. In: Genes, Chromosomes & Cancer . Volume 38, No. 4, 2003, pp. 292-293, doi: 10.1002 / gcc.10251 . PMID 14566845

[2] Alfred G. Knudson Biography . Fox Chase Cancer Center. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2008.

[3] Alfred G. Knudson jr .: Mutation and cancer: statistical study of retinoblastoma. In: PNAS . Volume 68, No. 4, 1971, pp. 820-823, full text (PDF) , PMID 5279523 .