2013 Wiley Prize awarded for circadian rhythm research

Deborah E. Wiley, Chair of The Wiley Foundation, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE: JWa & JWb) today awarded the 2013 Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences to Dr. Michael Young, Rockefeller University, Dr. Jeffrey Hall, Brandeis University (Emeritus), and Dr. Michael Rosbash, Brandeis University.

The three researchers received their award at Rockefeller University in New York City, where they were honored at a luncheon and then presented a lecture on their discovery of the molecular mechanisms governing circadian rhythms.

"I would like to congratulate Drs. Young, Rosbash and Hall for this well-deserved honor," said Wiley. "Their groundbreaking research on circadian rhythms has the potential to lead to more discoveries that could help many people who are suffering from very common maladies and disorders."

"I am extremely pleased to be able to recognize this outstanding achievement in the area of biomedical research."

Studies of the molecular basis for circadian rhythmicity began more than thirty years ago in the lab of Dr. Young at Rockefeller University and Drs. Hall and Rosbash at Brandeis. Over the past three decades, the work of the three men focused on the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster, with their research showing that the fly's circadian clocks are formed through the actions of a small group of genes.

These discoveries also apply to humans and other mammals, and could ultimately lead to the development of drugs to treat sleep disorders and jet lag, plus conditions associated with employees who work non-traditional shifts.

There is also evidence that the effectiveness of many drugs (including chemotherapeutics), our ability to fight infection, our ability to repair damaged tissues, and the incidence of certain forms of cancer depend on the proper working of circadian clocks.

This year's three winners have authored a number of articles published on Wiley Online Library. Free access will be offered to these articles for the remainder of 2013. They can be accessed at http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-816285.html?dmmsmid=72394&dmmspid=18999591&dmmsuid=1922750.

Among the many distinguished past recipients of the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences, five have also been awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn and Dr. Carol Greider, recipients of the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences in 2006, received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase. Dr. Andrew Z. Fire and Dr. Craig C. Mello, co-recipients of the Wiley Prize in 2003, received the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of RNA interference—gene silencing by double-stranded RNA. Dr. H. Robert Horvitz, a co-recipient of the first Wiley Prize in 2002, shared the 2002 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his respective work on how genes regulate organ development and cell death.

The Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences recognizes specific contribution or series of contributions that demonstrate significant leadership in the development of research concepts or their clinical application. Particular emphasis is placed on research that champions novel approaches and challenges accepted thinking in the biomedical sciences.

The Wiley Foundation and the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences were established in 2001.

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