Harold E. Varmus - Microbiologists, Birthday and Family
Harold E. Varmus's Personal Details
Harold E
| Information | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birthday | December 18, 1939 |
| Nationality | American |
| Famous | Amherst College, Physicians, Geneticists, Immunologists, Medical Scientists, Microbiologists |
| Spouses | Constance Louise Casey |
| Known as | Harold Eliot Varmus |
| Childrens | Christopher Varmus, Jacob Varmus |
| Universities |
|
| Notable Alumnis |
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| Birth Place | Oceanside, New York, US |
| Gender | Male |
| Father | Frank Varmus |
| Mother | Beatrice Varmus |
| Sun Sign | Sagittarius |
| Born in | Oceanside, New York, US |
| Famous as | Physician |
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Harold E. Varmus's photo
Who is Harold E. Varmus?
Harold E. Varmus is an American scientist who won a share of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Along with J. Michael Bishop, he discovered the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes and developed a new theory of the origin of cancer, which holds that the disease arises from mutations in some of our own normal genes. The duo also found out that the genes that are susceptible to such mutations are closely related to genes in a number of cancer-causing viruses. Born as the son of a physician, he was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps. But as a young man Varmus was more interested in literature and went on to earn a graduate degree in English at Harvard University. However, he changed his mind and entered the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, earning his MD in 1966. He was first exposed to laboratory science when he joined the Public Health Service at the National Institutes of Health where he performed research under Ira Pastan. He later began post-doctoral studies with Michael Bishop at University of California, San Francisco, under a fellowship from the California Division of the American Cancer Society. His scientific collaboration with Bishop led to many significant medical discoveries that are of much importance to the study of cancer causing viruses.
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Childhood & Early Life
Harold Eliot Varmus was born on December 18, 1939, in Oceanside, New York, U.S. to Jewish parents who had descended from immigrants who had arrived from Poland and Austria at the beginning of the century. His father, Frank Varmus, was a physician while his mother, Beatrice,, was a social service worker.
He graduated from Freeport High School in Freeport in 1957. As a youngster he was deeply interested in literature and writing, and planned for an academic career in literature. Following this dream, he earned an MA degree in English at Harvard University in 1962 with a focus on Anglo-Saxon and metaphysical poetry.
Armed with an English degree, he changed his mind and decided to pursue medical studies. He applied to, and was rejected by the Harvard Medical School following which he was accepted into the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York in 1962. He received his MD in 1966, which included a three-month internship at a hospital in northern India.
Career
Varmus worked as a medical house officer at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital from 1966 to 1968 following which he joined the Public Health Service at the National Institutes of Health where he was employed as a Clinical Associate in Ira Pastan's laboratory.
In 1970, he began postdoctoral research in J. Michael Bishop's lab at University of California, San Francisco. He became a Lecturer shortly thereafter, and in 1972, became a regular member of the faculty in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the university.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Bishop and Varmus together directed a research group which made several major discoveries regarding cancer causing viruses. The duo demonstrated that nearly-identical versions of cancer-causing genes (oncogenes) carried by retroviruses are present in the genome of normal, uninfected cells in a wide range of species, including humans.
Varmus steadily rose through the ranks in the UCSF and was promoted to professor in 1979 and became an American Cancer Society Research Professor in 1984. His collaborative research with Bishop shed light on the functioning of the retroviruses and contributed immensely to the understanding of cancer cells.
One of Varmus and Bishop’s biggest achievements was the identification of a cellular gene (c-src) that gave rise to the v-src oncogene of Rous Sarcoma Virus, a cancer-causing virus first isolated from a chicken sarcoma in 1910. The duo was honored with the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated Varmus as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Maryland, the nation's premier research and funding institution in the biomedical sciences. In this position he strengthened the institution’s commitment towards research on particular diseases, most notably AIDS, and helped to nearly double the research agency's budget.
He left NIH in 1999 to become president and director of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He helped to expand the center's basic research and educational programs, and built stronger collaborative relationships with two neighboring research institutions, Weill-Cornell Medical College and Rockefeller University. During the ten years he spent there, he also directed a small laboratory where he pursued his cancer research.
Varmus teamed up with two colleagues, Patrick Brown at Stanford and Michael Eisen at UC Berkeley, to establish the Public Library of Science (PLOS), a not-for-profit publisher of a suite of open access journals in the biomedical sciences. It launched its first journal, ‘PLOS Biology’, in October 2003. Varmus is also the author of more than 300 scientific papers and five books.
He returned to NIH in 2010, this time as director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). He left NCI in March 2015, and returned to New York to become the Lewis Thomas University Professor of Medicine at Weill-Cornell Medical College and as a Senior Associate at the New York Genome Center.
Major Works
Harold E. Varmus, in collaboration with J. Michael Bishop performed pioneering cancer research and is credited with the discovery of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes. Their studies in cancer-causing genes (oncogenes) carried by retroviruses shed new light on several questions on cancers that had been puzzling scientists so far.
Awards & Achievements
Harold E. Varmus shared the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award with J. Michael Bishop in 1982.
In 1989, Varmus and Bishop were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discovery of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes."
Varmus was honored with the Vannevar Bush Award in 2001.
Personal Life & Legacy
In 1969 Varmus married journalist and book critic Constance Casey. They have two sons, Jacob and Christopher.
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Harold E. Varmus's awards
| Year | Name | Award |
|---|---|---|
Other | ||
| 2009 | Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science - The art and politics of science | |
| 2001 | Vannevar Bush Award | |
| 2002 | National Medal of Science for Biological Sciences | |
| 0 | 1989 - Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine | |
| 0 | 1982 - Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research | |
| 0 | 1984 - Gairdner Foundation International Award | |
Harold E. Varmus biography timelines
- // 1910 To 1989One of Varmus and Bishop’s biggest achievements was the identification of a cellular gene (c-src) that gave rise to the v-src oncogene of Rous Sarcoma Virus, a cancer-causing virus first isolated from a chicken sarcoma in 1910. The duo was honored with the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries.
- // 18th Dec 1939Harold Eliot Varmus was born on December 18, 1939, in Oceanside, New York, U.S. to Jewish parents who had descended from immigrants who had arrived from Poland and Austria at the beginning of the century. His father, Frank Varmus, was a physician while his mother, Beatrice,, was a social service worker.
- // 1957 To 1962He graduated from Freeport High School in Freeport in 1957. As a youngster he was deeply interested in literature and writing, and planned for an academic career in literature. Following this dream, he earned an MA degree in English at Harvard University in 1962 with a focus on Anglo-Saxon and metaphysical poetry.
- // 1962 To 1966Armed with an English degree, he changed his mind and decided to pursue medical studies. He applied to, and was rejected by the Harvard Medical School following which he was accepted into the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York in 1962. He received his MD in 1966, which included a three-month internship at a hospital in northern India.
- // 1966 To 1968Varmus worked as a medical house officer at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital from 1966 to 1968 following which he joined the Public Health Service at the National Institutes of Health where he was employed as a Clinical Associate in Ira Pastan's laboratory.
- // 1969In 1969 Varmus married journalist and book critic Constance Casey. They have two sons, Jacob and Christopher.
- // 1970 To 1972In 1970, he began postdoctoral research in J. Michael Bishop's lab at University of California, San Francisco. He became a Lecturer shortly thereafter, and in 1972, became a regular member of the faculty in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the university.
- // 1979 To 1984Varmus steadily rose through the ranks in the UCSF and was promoted to professor in 1979 and became an American Cancer Society Research Professor in 1984. His collaborative research with Bishop shed light on the functioning of the retroviruses and contributed immensely to the understanding of cancer cells.
- // 1982Harold E. Varmus shared the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award with J. Michael Bishop in 1982.
- // 1989In 1989, Varmus and Bishop were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discovery of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes."
- // 1993In 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated Varmus as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Maryland, the nation's premier research and funding institution in the biomedical sciences. In this position he strengthened the institution’s commitment towards research on particular diseases, most notably AIDS, and helped to nearly double the research agency's budget.
- // 1999He left NIH in 1999 to become president and director of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He helped to expand the center's basic research and educational programs, and built stronger collaborative relationships with two neighboring research institutions, Weill-Cornell Medical College and Rockefeller University. During the ten years he spent there, he also directed a small laboratory where he pursued his cancer research.
- // 2001Varmus was honored with the Vannevar Bush Award in 2001.
- // Oct 2003Varmus teamed up with two colleagues, Patrick Brown at Stanford and Michael Eisen at UC Berkeley, to establish the Public Library of Science (PLOS), a not-for-profit publisher of a suite of open access journals in the biomedical sciences. It launched its first journal, ‘PLOS Biology’, in October 2003. Varmus is also the author of more than 300 scientific papers and five books.
- // 2010 To Mar 2015He returned to NIH in 2010, this time as director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). He left NCI in March 2015, and returned to New York to become the Lewis Thomas University Professor of Medicine at Weill-Cornell Medical College and as a Senior Associate at the New York Genome Center.
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Harold E. Varmus's FAQ
What is Harold E. Varmus birthday?
Harold E. Varmus was born at 1939-12-18
Where is Harold E. Varmus's birth place?
Harold E. Varmus was born in Oceanside, New York, US
What is Harold E. Varmus nationalities?
Harold E. Varmus's nationalities is American
Who is Harold E. Varmus spouses?
Harold E. Varmus's spouses is Constance Louise Casey
Who is Harold E. Varmus childrens?
Harold E. Varmus's childrens is Christopher Varmus, Jacob Varmus
What was Harold E. Varmus universities?
Harold E. Varmus studied at Amherst College
What was Harold E. Varmus notable alumnis?
Harold E. Varmus's notable alumnis is Amherst College
Who is Harold E. Varmus's father?
Harold E. Varmus's father is Frank Varmus
Who is Harold E. Varmus's mother?
Harold E. Varmus's mother is Beatrice Varmus
What is Harold E. Varmus's sun sign?
Harold E. Varmus is Sagittarius
How famous is Harold E. Varmus?
Harold E. Varmus is famouse as Physician