Nobel Laureate Sharp Speaks to Full House in Kresge Auditorium

Nobel Laureate Phillip Sharp, PhD, spoke to a full house in Kresge Auditorium Thursday afternoon, Nov. 7. The talk by Sharp, president-elect of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, was sponsored by the Fellows of the Graduate School and the Office of the President.

Before the talk, UC President Santa Ono, PhD, presented Sharp with the President's Award for Excellence for his significant contributions in research and education. Sharp won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1993 for his discovery of RNA splicing in 1977.

Sharp's topic was "Convergence: Biomedical Science in the 21st Century," and he stressed that the disciplines of biology and engineering must work together to solve today's problems. In addition, universities and private organizations must work in partnership. (As he put it, "Technology walks on two feet.")

Noting that many discoveries remain to be made, Sharp said, "In the gene world, we are no farther along than Thomas Edison and the light bulb."

Sharp spoke Friday, Nov. 8, at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center on "The Synthesis and Function of Noncoding RNAs."

For those who were unable to attend Sharp's Kresge Auditorium lecture, a video link is available here.