Truth, Trust and Hope

Nobel Prize Summit

Martin Chalfie

Martin Chalfie, the University Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University, shared the chemistry prize for his introduction of green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a biological marker.

Martin Chalfie, the University Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University, shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his introduction of green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a biological marker.

Chalfie obtained his A.B. and Ph.D. from Harvard University and did postdoctoral research with Sydney Brenner at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, England.

As a postdoctoral fellow, Chalfie, with John Sulston, established the first genetic model for mechanosensation using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. He and his lab subsequently used molecular, genetic, and electrophysiological means to study neuronal specification, differentiation, outgrowth, and degeneration; microtubule structure and function; and mechanosensory transduction and its modulation in C. elegans.

Chalfie is a past President of the Society for Developmental Biology and the current President-Elect of the American Society for Cell Biology. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. National Academy of Medicine and chairs the Committee on Human Rights of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

More about Martin Chalfie and the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

See Martin Chalfie at:

  • 24 May - The Global Conversation
  • Live from the Studio - Digital Exclusive: 12:30 - 14:00
  • See Programme
  • 25 May - Forum of Experts
  • Forum of Experts - Part 1: 09:30 - 12:00
  • See Programme

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“I don’t think the truth has ever mattered more”

Watch Vidar Helgesen, Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation and Marcia McNutt, President of the US National Academy of Sciences, discuss the upcoming Nobel Prize Summit.

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“With the 2023 Nobel Prize Summit we will promote the scientific method, critical thinking, and constructive dialogue.”

Vidar Helgesen, Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation and Marcia McNutt, President of the US National Academy of Sciences.

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