Aaron Ciechanover ( ; he, אהרן צ'חנובר; born October 1, 1947) is an Israeli
biologist
A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual cell, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually specialize ...
who won the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...
for characterizing the method that cells use to degrade and recycle proteins using
ubiquitin.
Biography
Early life
Ciechanover was born in
Haifa, British Mandate of Palestine on 1 October 1947. He is the son of Bluma (Lubashevsky), a teacher of English, and Yitzhak Ciechanover, an office worker. His mother and father supported the Zionist movement and immigrated to Israel from Poland in the 1920s.
Education
He earned a master's degree in science in 1971 and graduated from
Hadassah Medical School
Hadassah Medical Center ( he, הָמֶרְכָּז הָרְפוּאִי הֲדַסָּה) is an Israeli medical organization established in 1934 that operates two university hospitals in Jerusalem – one in Ein Karem and one in Mount Scopus –, ...
in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
in 1974. He received his doctorate in biochemistry in 1981 from the
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa before conducting postdoctoral research in the laboratory of
Harvey Lodish
Harvey Franklin Lodish (born November 16, 1941) is a molecular and cell biologist, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Founding Member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, and lead author of the textbook ...
at the
Whitehead Institute
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research is a non-profit research institute located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States that is dedicated to improving human health through basic biomedical research. It was founded as a fiscally indepe ...
at
MIT from 1981 to 1984.
Recent
Ciechanover is currently a Technion Distinguished Research Professor in the
Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute at the Technion. He is a member of the
Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the
Pontifical Academy of Sciences
The Pontifical Academy of Sciences ( it, Pontificia accademia delle scienze, la, Pontificia Academia Scientiarum) is a scientific academy of the Vatican City, established in 1936 by Pope Pius XI. Its aim is to promote the progress of the mat ...
, and is a foreign associate of the
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the N ...
. In 2008, he was a visiting Distinguished Chair Professor at
NCKU, Taiwan. As part of Shenzhen's 13th Five-Year Plan funding research in emerging technologies and opening "Nobel laureate research labs", in 2018 he opened the Ciechanover Institute of Precision and Regenerative Medicine at the
Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen campus.
Nobel Prize
Ciechanover is one of Israel's first
Nobel Laureates
The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make ou ...
in
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...
, earning his Nobel Prize in 2004 for his work in ubiquitination. He is honored for playing a central role in the history of Israel and in the
history of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a leading technical university in Haifa, Israel, with a history dating back to the early 20th century.
Overview
The extent to which technology determines history and the creation and destin ...
.
Publications and lectures
* Ciechanover, A., Hod, Y. and Hershko, A. (1978). A Heat-stable Polypeptide Component of an ATP-dependent Proteolytic System from Reticulocytes. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 81, 1100–1105.
* Ciechanover, A., Heller, H., Elias, S., Haas, A.L. and Hershko, A. (1980). ATP-dependent Conjugation of Reticulocyte Proteins with the Polypeptide Required for Protein Degradation. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77, 1365–1368.
* Hershko, A. and Ciechanover, A. (1982). Mechanisms of intracellular protein breakdown. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 51, 335–364.
*Hershko, A. and Ciechanover, A. (1998). THE UBIQUITIN SYSTEM. Biochem. 1998 67:1, 425-479
*Ciechanover was an invited guest lecturer at the Yerevan State Medical University in Armenia in 2010.
*He lectured at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology in North Korea in May 2016.
Industry involvement
Ciechanover has served on the Scientific Advisory Boards of the following companies:
Rosetta Genomics
Rosetta Genomics Ltd. was a molecular diagnostics company with offices in Israel and the United States that uses micro-ribonucleic acid (microRNA) biomarkers to develop diagnostic tests designed to differentiate between various types of cancer ...
(Chairman),
BioLineRx, Ltd,
StemRad, Ltd, Allosterix Ltd, Proteologics, Inc, MultiGene Vascular Systems, Ltd,
Protalix BioTherapeutics
Protalix BioTherapeutics is an Israeli pharmaceutical company that manufactures a plant-based enzyme, taliglucerase alfa, which has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the treatment of Gaucher disease.
Corporate history
Prot ...
, BioTheryX, Inc., and Haplogen, GmbH.
Ciechanover is a member of the Advisory Board of
Patient Innovation, a nonprofit, international, multilingual, free venue for patients and caregivers of any disease to share their innovations.
Awards
* In 2000, Ciechanover received the
Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
The Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research is one of the prizes awarded by the Lasker Foundation for a fundamental discovery that opens up a new area of biomedical science. The award frequently precedes a Nobel Prize in Medicine; almost 5 ...
.
* In 2003, he was awarded the
Israel Prize
The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor.
History
The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...
, for biology.
* In 2004, he was awarded the
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
in
Chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...
for his discovery with
Avram Hershko and
Irwin Rose, of
ubiquitin-mediated
protein degradation. The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway has a critical role in maintaining the homeostasis of cells and is believed to be involved in the development and progression of cancer, muscular and neurological diseases, and immune and inflammatory responses.
* In 2005, he received the Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement.
* In 2006, he was awarded the
Sir Hans Krebs Medal.
*In 2008. he was conferred Hon. DSc by NCKU Taiwan
* In 2009, he was conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Science by the
University of Cambodia
The University of Cambodia (often referred to as UC for short; km, សាកលវិទ្យាល័យកម្ពុជា, ''Sakâlvĭtyéalai Kămpŭchéa'') is a private university located on Northbridge Road in Sen Sok District, Phnom Pe ...
.
* In 2016 he became a member of the
German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founde ...
.
See also
*
List of Israel Prize recipients
This is a complete list of recipients of the Israel Prize from the inception of the Prize in 1953 through to 2022.
List
For each year, the recipients are, in most instances, listed in the order in which they appear on the official Israel Prize ...
*
List of Israeli Nobel laureates
*
List of Jewish Nobel laureates
Nobel Prizes have been awarded to over 900 individuals, of whom at least 20% were Jews.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
The number of Jews receiving Nobel prizes has been the subject of some attention.*
*
*"Jews rank high among winners of Nobel, but why ...
References
External links
* including the Nobel Lecture on December 8, 2004 ''Intracellular Protein Degradation: From a Vague Idea thru the Lysosome and the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System and onto Human Diseases and Drug Targeting''
Website at the TechnionA video interview with Aaron Ciechanover
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciechanover, Aaron
1947 births
Living people
Nobel laureates in Chemistry
Israeli Nobel laureates
Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization
The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School alumni
Israel Prize in biology recipients
Israeli biologists
Jews in Mandatory Palestine
EMET Prize recipients in the Life Sciences
People from Haifa
Israeli Jews
Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology faculty
Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
Members of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Recipients of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts
Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences
Members of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
Members of the National Academy of Medicine