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From a self-described “lab rat” to a pioneer in the genetics field
Elizabeth Blackburn, Morris Herztein Professor of Biology and Physiology in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, is a leading figure in telomere and telomerase research.
She discovered the molecular nature of telomeres - the ends of chromosomes that act as protective caps, essential for preserving genetic information - and of the enzyme telomerase, which has the property of lengthening these chromosome ends. Prof. Blackburn and her team are currently working on various cell types, including human cells, with the aim of elucidating telomerase function and telomere biology in detail.
Throughout her career, Elizabeth Blackburn has been honored by her peers with numerous prestigious awards. She was awarded the Albert Lasker Prize for Basic Medical Research (2006) and the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009, for her major discoveries on the role of these structures in cellular aging, genetic stability and the development of certain diseases. Also the 2008 North American winner of the L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science, she was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2007.
A visionary spirit at the service of a leading-edge institute
When she accepted the presidency of the Scientific Advisory Board at the creation of Institut Imagine (Inserm, AP-HP, Université Paris Cité), she put her expertise and international outlook at the service of the Institute's mission : to accelerate research, diagnosis and treatment of rare genetic diseases.
Under her chairmanship, the Scientific Advisory Board has played a strategic role in evaluating research projects, identifying new scientific priorities and strengthening the interdisciplinary dynamic between researchers, physicians and engineers. Her personal commitment, scientific rigor and ability to foster dialogue between disciplines have had a profound influence on the trajectory of Institut Imagine, now recognized as a world reference center in its field.
“I've been a member of Imagine's International Scientific Committee since its creation over ten years ago. I have witnessed the Institute's development and the realization of its dream, which was to bring together all the knowledge in developmental sciences and all the expertise in understanding genetic diseases in a single place, and in a spirit of synergy. I don't think you'll find this unique synthesis anywhere else,” she says of the Institute. On January 1, 2025, she handed over the presidency of the Scientific Advisory Board to Prof. Aravinda Chakravarti (NYU, USA).
The award ceremony took place at the Institute, in the presence of representatives of the scientific community, doctors, patients' families and institutional partners, all gathered to pay tribute to a woman whose scientific vision and humanist values echo the mission of the Imagine Institute. “This award underlines the importance of Prof. Blackburn's commitment, whose contributions go far beyond the academic field. Her demanding and benevolent approach has helped consolidate our scientific strategy and anchor Imagine in a dynamic of excellence and innovation on an international scale”, says Prof. Bana Jabri, Director of Institut Imagine.