For five decades, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has been a significant center for scientific research and Nobel Prize-winning discoveries. Six UCSF faculty members have received the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine since 1901, placing the institution among the leading U.S. medical schools in this regard.
Professor David Julius, Ph.D., was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2021 for his research into how humans sense pain, heat, and touch. His work involved studying natural substances such as tarantula toxins and capsaicin from chili peppers to uncover how certain proteins play a key role in sensory pathways. “Science is a lot like real estate: It’s about location, location, location,” said Julius following his award. He added that UCSF has long been a prime place for groundbreaking scientific work.
Julius’ findings have advanced understanding of pain at the molecular level and opened new possibilities for developing safer pain treatments that are not addictive.
In 2007, Professor Shinya Yamanaka, M.D., Ph.D., made another important contribution by discovering how to reprogram mature cells to return them to their pluripotent state—a property previously thought unique to embryonic stem cells. This breakthrough created new opportunities for disease research and treatment development.
Professor Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D., identified telomeres—protective caps on chromosomes—and showed their role in cell division and aging. Her research addressed fundamental questions about chromosome replication and has influenced studies into cancer therapies and aging processes.
Neurology Professor Stanley Prusiner, M.D., discovered prions—infectious proteins responsible for diseases such as Kuru and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease—in 1982. This challenged existing beliefs about infectious agents and has since informed further study into neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
Former UCSF Chancellor J. Michael Bishop and Professor Harold E. Varmus contributed significantly by proving the existence of oncogenes—mutated genes that can cause cancer—in normal cells. Their discovery led to advances in cancer care including identification of specific oncogenes like HER2 in breast cancer and targeted treatments such as Herceptin.
These achievements underscore UCSF’s ongoing influence on biomedical science through discoveries that have changed both basic understanding of biology and approaches to treating major diseases.
