Gregg Semenza Wins the 2016 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award

To the Johns Hopkins Medicine community

Dear Colleagues,

I am delighted to congratulate Gregg Semenza, the C. Michael Armstrong Professor of Medicine and director of the Vascular Biology Program in the Institute for Cell Engineering, on receiving the 2016 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award. The award, among the most prestigious in biomedicine, recognizes Gregg and his two co-winners for "discovery of essential pathways by which human and animal cells sense and adapt to the presence of oxygen."

In studies of molecular mechanisms of oxygen regulation, Gregg has led the field in uncovering how cells adapt to changing oxygen levels. He discovered a protein known as HIF-1, which switches genes on and off in response to low oxygen levels. By regulating oxygen, these genes, in turn, control energy manufacture, the generation of new red blood cells and the growth of new blood vessels.

Gregg's work has opened an entire new field for exploration and has pointed us toward potential new therapeutic approaches for illnesses ranging from diabetes to breast cancer. He and his colleagues have studied the role of HIF-1 in cancer, ischemia and chronic lung disease, all of which are among the most common causes of mortality in the United States. The hope is that these investigations into oxygen sensing can pave the way to new drugs that work by either increasing or cutting off the supply of oxygen to certain tissues.

Today's award brings Gregg richly deserved acclaim for his efforts to decipher fundamental mechanisms of biology and, by extension, improve human health. I think I speak for all of us at Johns Hopkins Medicine when I say we could not be prouder to call Gregg a colleague.

Gregg shares the award with William Kaelin Jr. of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Peter Ratcliffe of Oxford University.

You are invited to attend a reception honoring Gregg's achievements on Thursday, Oct. 6, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the lobby of the Smith Building. You can find more about his work on the Johns Hopkins Medicine website.

Sincerely,

Paul B. Rothman, M.D.
Dean of the Medical Faculty
CEO, Johns Hopkins Medicine