NOBEL PRIZE IN MEDICINE

First ever Nobel Prize for Sleep Research into what makes us tick

The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was jointly awarded to Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young (all from the USA) for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm.  The Nobel Assembly, consisting of 50 professors at Karolinska Institutet, awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In total, 107 Nobel prizes for physiology or medicine have been won by 211 scientists since 1901 (with only 12 awards given to women, just sayin’). This is the first one awarded to the sleep field. Over many years, these most recent Nobel laureates used fruit flies as their model organism and isolated a gene that controls the normal daily biological rhythm. They showed that this gene encodes a protein that accumulates in the cell during the night, and is then degraded during the day. Their work on fruit flies has led to an understanding that biological clocks function by the same principles in cells of other multicellular organisms, including humans. As a result of their work, we now understand how internal rhythms remain synchronised with each other and with the external environment.  Our aim for improved health and safety on the roads and in our workplaces stems from their work in that we now know more about the health challenges of those humans who have to continually work against their internal clock. We also know that there is evidence that chronic circadian misalignment increases the risk for various diseases, and their work will help our field to work towards reducing mortality and morbidity related to insufficient sleep.  This Nobel Prize is a very exciting development for the sleep world; worth noting and worth celebrating.  The Sleep Health Foundation extends hearty congratulations and huge appreciation to Hall, Rosbash and Young for their hard work and contribution to our field.  Thank you for the insights into what makes us tick! Moira Junge Chair Marketing Committee Sleep Health Foundation