Phillip Allen Sharp

Landmark research achievement (Nobel Prize, 1993) was the discovery of RNA splicing in 1977. This provided the first indication of the startling phenomenon of split genes in the cells of mammals. The discovery that genes contain nonsense segments that are edited out by cells in the course of utilizing genetic information was pivotal for the subsequent remarkable advances in cell biology, human genetics, and cancer research. He has over 300 career publications. Present research interests include regulation of gene expression in vertebrates, RNA splicing, control of transcription by RNA polymerase II, and RNA interference.