Remarks by Dr. Elizabeth G. Nabel for "Genes to Proteins: Decoding Genetic Information," a symposium marking Dr. Marshall Nirenberg's deciphering of the genetic code as a National Historic Chemical Landmark, November 12, 2009

Dr. Nabel - November 18, 2009

Good morning. Thank you, [Dr. Rodgers], for your kind introduction, and thank you [Dr. Schechter] for chairing this symposium to honor our colleague, mentor, and true scientific hero, Marshall Nirenberg.

We recognize Marshall today for his landmark discoveries starting 50 years ago with the observation that the RNA sequence "UUU" – and I'm sure my 17-year-old daughter would have some euphemism for UUU, something on YouTube or something else – but nonetheless, the RNA sequence "UUU" encodes the amino acid phenylalanine. As a critical piece of the puzzle of how genes work, Marshall, your deciphering of the genetic code helped set the stage for the genomic era we are living in today.

In 1962, Marshall had his pick of prestigious labs. We are honored that he chose to pursue his research career at the NHLBI's precursor, the National Heart Institute. He has been with our intramural program ever since—for 47 years. And that's quite an accomplishment.

He certainly didn't waste any time when he arrived at our institute. Within three years, he and his team had won the race to identify the RNA codons for all twenty amino acids.

Marshall could have coasted on the success of his early work, which eventually made him the first intramural researcher and Federal employee to become a Nobel laureate. But instead, during his time at the NHLBI, he has continued to make significant discoveries in neurobiology and genetics. His interest in neuroblastoma led to pioneering work in culturing neural cells. He has become a leader in studying gene expression, stem cell differentiation, and nervous system development.

In the 1980s, Marshall and an NHLBI postdoc discovered a fruit fly gene that is essential for normal heart development. And that discovery actually has gone on to have important clinical significance as well. It's an important contributor to congenital heart disease and has led to a number of other important clinical discoveries. Other investigators have found mutations in the human version of the gene that causes congenital heart disease.

More recently, Marshall has made remarkable innovations in small-molecule screening for applications as wide-ranging as addiction, memory, and heart and blood disorders.

Marshall's accomplishments have not been limited to the laboratory [or] even the clinic. For example, he was one of the first scientists to speak out about the need for ethical guidelines regarding genetic manipulation and cloning.

His colleagues will tell you that he has one of the most intangible but critical qualities in science: He knows how to pick the right problem, and he knows how to design the perfect experiments to solve them.

Not only that, but I think one of Marshall's finest qualities is that he knows how to choose the right team. He has worked with some of the most talented young researchers who have ever been at the NIH. Those who have trained in Marshall's lab at the NHLBI have become leaders in such respected institutions as the Carnegie Institute, the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Harvard University, Merck, the Roche Institute for Molecular Biology, the University of Texas, and the Environmental Health and National Cancer Institutes. Two collaborators went on to receive Nobel Prizes of their own—Joseph Goldstein in 1985 and Al Gilman in 1994. Marshall's lab is among the best at the NIH for producing so many distinguished scientists.

Through it all, Marshall has remained boundlessly enthusiastic about new approaches. He shares his excitement with those around him, regardless of whether a discovery came from his lab or from another researcher.

In fact, I think it's accurate to say that Marshall's rigor, intensity, intellect, and pure joy in thinking about and doing science has made him an NHLBI "gold standard" of how we judge excellence.

DeWitt Stetten, then Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases, once referred to the NIH-wide effort to complete Marshall's prize-winning research as "NIH's finest moment." What he didn't say is that all those people pitched in partly because Marshall was—and is—someone you can always get behind.

Marshall, to borrow one of your favorite words, you're a "terrific" guy and a "terrific" researcher, and I'll add a terrific friend and colleague as well. It's really been my enormous pleasure to have had the opportunity to work alongside of you for the past 10 years, and I'll miss our friendship and collaboration as I move on in several months. But I look forward to keeping in touch over the years.

So thank you again. We're looking forward to the day's symposium. I'll now turn over the podium to Dr. Michael Gottesman, our Director of Intramural Research.

To see a videocast of the symposium, visit http://videocast.nih.gov/Summary.asp?File=15434

Dr. Elizabeth G. Nabel joined Dr. Marshall Nirenberg to celebrate the naming of a National Historic Chemical Landmark at the NIH, November 12, 2009.

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