Curriculum vitae
Victor R. Ambros was born on December 1, 1953, in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA He grew up on a dairy farm in Hartland, Vermont, where he showed an interest in science from an early age. His education began at Woodstock Union High School and then continued at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in 1975. He also completed his doctoral studies at MIT, and its promoter was Nobel laureate David Baltimore. In 1979, he earned his doctorate and began a scientific career focusing on gene regulation research.
He began his academic career as a lecturer at Harvard University, where from 1984 to 1992 he conducted research on the molecular mechanisms of controlling the development of organisms. He then moved to Dartmouth College, where he served as a professor for nearly a decade. In 2001, he became a professor at Dartmouth Medical School, and since 2008 he has been associated with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he serves as Silverman Professor of Natural Sciences and Co-Director of the RNA therapeutic Institute.
The most important scientific achievement of Victor Ambros was the discovery of microRNA (miRNA) in 1993. Together with Gary Ruvkun and Rosalinda Lee, he demonstrated that miRNAs play a key role in regulating gene expression, which ushered in a new field of molecular biology. His study of the lin-4 gene at Caenorhabditis elegans revealed the existence of short RNA sequences that do not code for proteins but regulate other genes by interacting with their mRNA. This discovery changed the way scientists understand the mechanisms of genetic control of developmental processes and had far-reaching consequences for research into cancer, metabolic and neurological diseases.
For years, Victor Ambros has led pioneering research into the function and mechanism of miRNA in various organisms. His work has shown that miRNAs are conservative gene regulators whose dysfunction can lead to serious diseases, including cancer. It also enabled the development of new methods of sequencing miRNA, which opened the way for innovative gene therapies. His research was fundamental to understanding how microRNAs control cell differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis, which contributed to the development of biotechnology and medicine.
For his achievements, Victor Ambros has been honoured with many prestigious awards, including the Albert Lasker Prize (2008), the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2015), the Wolf Prize in Medicine (2014), and in 2024 he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine together with Gary Ruvkun. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the author of numerous scientific publications that have been cited tens of thousands of times. His Hirsch index (h-index) ranks him among the most distinguished scientists in molecular biology and genetics.
In addition to his scientific work, Ambros is known as an inspiring mentor and teacher. Many of his PhD students and collaborators have achieved significant success in the field of molecular biology. Despite his achievements on the international stage, he remains a humble man who always emphasizes his team’s contribution to scientific success.
Victor Ambros lives and works in Massachusetts, where he continues to research RNA and its potential use in new medical therapies. His findings have forever changed the way we view genetic regulation, making him one of the most prominent molecular biologists of the 21st century.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Ambros
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2024/ambros/facts/
https://profiles.umassmed.edu/display/129913
https://gruber.yale.edu/genetics/victor-ambros
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Victor-Ambros
