Jeffrey M. Friedman

Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Marilyn M. Simpson Professor and Head, Laboratory of Molecular Genetics. Widely recognized as a founder of modern basic science in obesity research. Early in his career, he became interested in molecular signals that might be involved in metabolic physiology, when molecular genetics was beginning to develop techniques that made even difficult gene cloning (i.e. with unknown gene products) seem possible. His research focused on the ob and db genes, which when mutant in mice, caused a profound obesity. With originality and persistence, he succeeded in isolating and sequencing both. The ob gene encodes leptin, a hormone released from fat cells that normally controls appetite. He subsequently showed that the db gene encodes the leptin receptor. Continuing work led to proof that leptin signals through the hypothalamus to control frequency of feeding as well as expended physical activity. Honors include the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, the Shaw Prize for Life Sciences and Medicine, the Keio Medical Science Prize, the Gairdner International Prize, and the Danone International Prize for Nutrition.