Nobel Prize in Medicine 2024 | Victor Ambros & Gary Ruvkun Honored for MicroRNA Discovery

Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine. The duo were awarded for discovering microRNA and its role in regulating gene expression after transcription. 

The Nobel Prize Award season began on Monday. Last year, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Hungarian-American Katalin Karikó and American Drew Weissman for discoveries that enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 that were critical in slowing the pandemic.

The medicine prize has been awarded 114 times to a total of 227 laureates — the title given to winners. Only 13 women have won been awarded the prize that carries a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel.

The laureates are invited to receive their awards at ceremonies on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death.

Nobel announcements continue with the physics prize on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday and the economics award on Oct. 14.