| 1 | Name: | Dr. J. Michael Bishop | |
| Institution: | University of California, San Francisco | ||
| Year Elected: | 1995 | ||
| Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 201. Molecular Biology and Biochemistry | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Living | ||
| Birth Date: | 1936 | ||
J. Michael Bishop is one of the pioneers of research on molecular biology of tumor viruses, and with H.E. Varmus he made the key discovery that cancer-causing genes (oncogenes) of a major class of tumor-causing viruses are present as normal components of the chromosomes of vertebrates, including humans. By focusing attention on the possible role of aberrantly expressed normal genes and the proteins that they encode, this work stimulated the search and discovery of changes in cellular oncogenes in human cancer. For his work in microbiology, Dr. Bishop received the Lasker Prize in 1982 and the Nobel Prize in 1989. In 2003 he was awarded the National Medal of Science and his book, How to win the Nobel Prize: An Unexpected Life in Science, was published. After many years as a professor of microbiology, immunology and biochemistry at the University of California, San Francisco, he served as Chancellor of that institution until 2009. A scientist of broad culture, Dr. Bishop has reflected and lectured widely on the malaise that exists between science and society and has been active in efforts to improve science teaching in schools. | |||