NIDDK’s Felsenfeld Receives Horwitz Prize
Dr. Gary Felsenfeld, NIDDK senior investigator and NIH distinguished investigator, is a 2016 recipient of the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize. Columbia University gives the award to recognize outstanding basic research in biology or biochemistry. Since the prize was first awarded in 1967, 43 awardees have gone on to win Nobel Prizes.
Felsenfeld’s research has focused on how chromatin proteins regulate the biochemical behavior and structure of DNA within the cell’s nucleus, including the processes of cellular differentiation and how embryos develop.
Understanding the changes in chromatin structure and function associated with both normal and abnormal growth and development is essential to advancing progress in diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Felsenfeld’s work helped lead to the formation of the epigenetics field.