Björn Vennström (born 1948) is a Swedish molecular biologist. He received his Ph.D. in 1978 at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

with a thesis on RNA and in 1993, was appointed Professor of Developmental Biology at the

Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; ; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden and one of the foremost medical research institutes globally ...

. He is also a professor of molecular biology at the same institution. He was elected a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

, was awarded the

Göran Gustafsson Prize The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting natural sciences and mathem ...

in 1991, has served on the

Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine is the Nobel Committee responsible for proposing laureates for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

from 2001 to 2006, and is the Chairman of the Nobel Assembly. While at the

EMBL The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to molecular biology research and is supported by 29 member states, two prospect member states, and one associate member state. EMBL was created in ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

he cloned the c-erbA gene in 1984 and demonstrated in 1986 that the c-erbA gene encodes a high affinity

thyroid hormone receptor The thyroid hormone receptor (TR) is a type of nuclear receptor that is activated by binding thyroid hormone. TRs act as transcription factors, ultimately affecting the regulation of gene transcription and translation. These receptors also have ...

References

1948 births Living people Swedish scientists Uppsala University alumni Academic staff of the Karolinska Institute Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Swedish biologists Molecular biologists {{Sweden-scientist-stub