SIR PAUL NURSE
Cancer Research UK, London
Nobel Prize winner in 2001 for Physiology and Medicine with Tim Hunt and Lee Hartwell

Cell Division and DNA

Dr Paul Nurse is Interim Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK - the new charity that emerged from the merger of Imperial Cancer Research Fund and The Cancer Research Campaign in February 2002. The charity funds around 3000 scientists, doctors and nurses and, this year will have a research spend of over £170 million, making it the world’s largest independent cancer research organisation. Paul Nurse combines his Chief Executive responsibilities with his ongoing role as head of his own laboratory - also at Cancer Research UK.

The Cell Cycle Laboratory led by Dr Nurse studies the genes that are involved in cell division. He became interested in the cell cycle because it is a very simple example of development - the most basic form of reproduction and a characteristic of all living things. He believed that its study would reveal something very important about the question ‘what is life?’.

Over the years his lab has greatly enhanced our understanding of the nature of cells and has provided fundamental insights central to the understanding of the origins of cancer. He is probably best known for his contribution to the discovery of the mechanism which controls cell division in most living organisms and was recently awarded the Nobel Prize for ‘Physiology or Medicine’ in recognition of the work.

Away from the lab, Dr Nurse focusses on the role of science in society and is keen to promote better communication between scientists and the wider population. When he’s not in the lab or gazing at the stars (he’s a keen amateur astronomer) he can be found soaring around the countryside in a glider.