Person

Blackburn, Elizabeth Helen (1948 - )

AC FAA FRS

Born
26 November 1948
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Occupation
Biochemist, Nobel laureate, Biophysicist and Educator

Summary

Elizabeth Blackburn discovered the ribonucleoprotein enzyme telomerase. Blackburn and her research team at the University of California, San Francisco have worked with a variety of organisms and human cancer cells gaining an understanding of telomerase and telomere biology. Her work in this area has been published widely in peer-reviewed journals. In 2009 Blackburn and her research partners, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.

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Details

Chronology

1970
Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Melbourne
1972
Education - Master of Science (MSc), University of Melbourne
1975
Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Cambridge, UK
1975 - 1977
Career position - Postdoctoral work in molecular and cellular biology, Yale University, USA
1978
Career position - Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, San Francisco, USA
1978 - 1983
Career position - Assistant Professor, University of California, San Francisco, USA
1983 - 1986
Career position - Associate Professor, University of California, San Francisco, USA
1986 - 1990
Career position - Professor, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California, San Francisco, USA
1988
Award - Eli Lilly Research Award for Microbiology and Immunology
1990 -
Career position - Professor, Biochemistry and Biophysics, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, USA
1990
Award - Harvey Society Lecturer, Harvey Society in New York
1990
Award - National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology
1991
Education - Honorary Doctor of Science (DSc (Hon)), Yale University, USA
1991
Award - Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
1992
Award - Fellow, The Royal Society, London (FRS)
1993
Award - Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology
1993 - 1999
Career position - Chair in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, USA
1998
Career position - President, American Society for Cell Biology
1998
Award - Gairdner Foundation International Award
1998
Award - Australia Prize in the field of Molecular Science (joint), Commonwealth of Australia
1999 -
Career position - Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, USA
1999
Award - California Scientist of the Year
1999
Award - Keio Medical Science Prize
1999
Award - Harvey Prize
2000
Award - American Association for Cancer Research's G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award
2000
Award - American Cancer Society's Medal of Honor
2000
Award - Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award
2000
Award - Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
2001
Award - E.B. Wilson Award of the American Society for Cell Biology
2001
Award - General Motors Cancer Research Foundation Alfred P. Sloan Award
2001
Award - AACR-Pezcoller Foundation International Award for Cancer Research
2003
Award - Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Medical Research Award
2004
Award - Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for Medicine
2005
Award - Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science of The Franklin Institute
2006
Award - Genetics Prize from the Peter Gruber Foundation
2006
Award - Honorary Doctorate of Science from Harvard University
2006
Award - Co-recipient of Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences from the Wiley Foundation (shared with Carol W. Greider)
2006
Award - Co-recipient of Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (shared with Carol W. Greider and Jack Szostak)
2007
Award - Honorary Doctorate of Science from Princeton University
2007
Award - Co-recipient of Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize (shared with Carol W. Greider and Joseph G. Gall)
2007
Award - Corresponding Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
2008
Award - L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science
2008
Career position - President, American Society for Cell Biology for the year 1998
2009
Award - Mike Hogg Award
2009
Award - Co-recipient of Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize (shared with Carol W. Greider)
2009
Award - Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (jointly with Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak) - for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase
2010
Career position - President, American Association for Cancer Research [for the year 2010]
26 Jan 2010
Award - Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) - for eminent service to science as a leader in the field of biomedical research, particularly through the discovery of telomerase and its role in the development of cancer and ageing of cells and through contributions as an international adviser in Bioethics.
2011
Award - Curtin Medal for Excellence in Medical Research, John Curtin School of Medical Research

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

  • McCarthy, Gavan; Morgan, Helen; Smith, Ailie; van den Bosch, Alan, Where are the Women in Australian Science?, Exhibition of the Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, First published 2003 with lists updated regularly edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, 2003, https://eoas.info/exhibitions/wisa/wisa.html. Details

Books

  • Brady, Catherine, Elizabeth Blackburn and the Story of Telomeres (Cambridge, Mass.: MiT Press, 2009), 392 pp. Details

Journal Articles

Resources

Resource Sections

Reviews

See also

Ailie Smith

Created: 11 February 2003, Last modified: 5 November 2025

EOAS ID: biogs/P004176b.htm

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