Courtesy of The Rockefeller University

Arnold Levine, president of Rockefeller University, has become the first recipient of the largest cash prize in American biomedical research, the Albany Medical Center Prize worth $500,000. The new award, established by New York philanthropist Morris “Marty” Silverman, is intended to honor a physician or scientist whose work has led to significant advances in health care and scientific research.

Levine, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, is best known for his isolation of the tumor suppressor gene, p53. Fifty five percent of human cancers express mutations in both p53 alleles. P53 is regulated by the oncoprotein MDM2, and overproduction of the latter inactivates p53 leading to tumor formation. Levine's lab is presently investigating small molecules that would block the effects of MDM2 as potential anticancer drugs.