Members of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center exemplify extraordinary scientific distinction as measured by prestigious national and international honors.
Important UCSF cancer research from the 1970s includes seminal work by Drs. J. Michael Bishop and Harold Varmus, who were awarded the 1989 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery of oncogenes. Today, UCSF investigators build on that legacy of prize-winning research. Current Cancer Center members who have been honored for outstanding scientific achievements include the following:
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel is awarded to the person(s) who has made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine.
- Elizabeth H. Blackburn, PhD (2009)
- J. Michael Bishop, PhD and Harold Varmus, PhD (1989)
Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research and Clinical Medical Research
The Lasker, known as "America's Nobel," honors a researcher whose accomplishments have made major advances in the understanding, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, or cure of one of the great crippling and killer diseases of our century.
- Elizabeth H. Blackburn, PhD (2006)
- Yuet Wai Kan, MD, FRS (1991)
- Peter Walter, MD (2014)
Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine
Often considered the "Nobel Prize of Asia," the Shaw prize honors individuals who have achieved significant breakthroughs in academic and scientific research or applications, and whose work has resulted in a positive and profound impact on mankind.
- Yuet Wai Kan, MD, FRS (2004)
- Peter Walter, MD (2014)
Member, National Academy of Sciences
The NAS is a society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare.
- David Agard, PhD
- Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, PhD
- Elizabeth H. Blackburn, PhD
- Shaun R. Coughlin, MD, PhD
- Jason G. Cyster, PhD
- Robert J. Fletterick, PhD
- Lily Jan, PhD
- Alexander (Sandy) D. Johnson, PhD
- Yuet Wai Kan, MD, FRS
- Lewis L. Lanier, PhD
- Richard M. Locksley, MD
- Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, DSc (Hon)
- Patrick H. O'Farrell, PhD
- Aleksandar Rajkovic, MD, PhD
- Kevan M. Shokat, PhD
- Peter Walter, PhD
- Arthur Weiss, MD, PhD
- Jonathan Weissman, PhD
- James A. Wells, PhD
- Keith R. Yamamoto, PhD
Fellow, Royal Society
The RS is the independent scientific academy of the UK, dedicated to promoting excellence in science.
- Alan Ashworth, PhD, FRS
- Allan Balmain, PhD, FRS, FRSE
- Elizabeth H. Blackburn, PhD
- Yuet Wai Kan, MD, FRS
- Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS
- David O. Morgan, PhD, FRS
Fellow, Royal Society of Edinburgh
The RSE is the independent scientific academy of Scotland, dedicated to promoting excellence in science.
Member, National Academy of Medicine
Formerly the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Medicine provides national and international advice on issues relating to health, medicine, health policy, and biomedical science.
- Elizabeth H. Blackburn, PhD (2000)
- Jeffrey A. Bluestone, PhD (2003)
- Atul Butte, MD, PhD (2015)
- Kathleen Giacomini, PhD (2006)
- Jennifer R. Grandis, MD (2012)
- Deborah Greenspan, BDS, DSc (2000)
- John S. Greenspan, PhD (1995)
- Yuet Wai Kan, MD, FRS (2011)
- Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS (2005)
- Jennifer Puck, MD (2012)
- Aleksandar Rajkovic, MD, PhD (2020)
- Neil J. Risch, PhD(2010)
- Steven Schroeder, MD(1983)
- Kevan M. Shokat, PhD(2010)
- Paul A. Volberding, MD (1999)
- Peter Walter, PhD (2018)
- Arthur Weiss, MD, PhD (2004)
- Keith R. Yamamoto, PhD(2003)
Fellows, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Academy is an international learned society composed of the world's leading scientists, scholars, artists, business people, and public leaders.
- David Agard, PhD (2009)
- Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, PhD (2013)
- Alan Ashworth, PhD, FRS (2019)
- Elizabeth H. Blackburn, PhD (1991)
- Jeffrey A. Bluestone, PhD (2006)
- Atul Butte, MD, PhD (2023)
- Shaun R. Coughlin, MD, PhD (2002)
- Charles S. Craik, PhD (2017)
- Jason G. Cyster, PhD (2018)
- Lily Jan, PhD (2007)
- Yuet Wai Kan, MD, FRS (1993)
- Thomas Kornberg, PhD (2003)
- Lewis L. Lanier, PhD (2011)
- Jay A. Levy, MD (2004)
- Richard M. Locksley, MD (2005)
- Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, DSc (Hon) (2015)
- Robert L. Nussbaum, MD (2015)
- Patrick H. O’Farrell, PhD (2009)
- Steven Schroeder, MD (2007)
- Dean Sheppard, PhD (2017)
- Kevan M. Shokat, PhD (2011)
- Peter Walter, PhD (2002)
- Arthur Weiss, MD, PhD (2003)
- James A. Wells, PhD (2015)
- Keith R. Yamamoto, PhD (1989)
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The HHMI is a nonprofit medical research organization that employs hundreds of leading biomedical scientists working at the forefront of their fields, and helps to enhance science education at all levels and maintain the vigor of biomedical science worldwide.