Michael S. Brown, M.D.
Michael S. Brown received a B.A. degree in Chemistry in 1962 and an M.D. degree in 1966 from the University of Pennsylvania. He was an intern and resident at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and a post doctoral fellow with Dr. Earl Stadtman at the National Institutes of Health. In 1971, he came to Dallas where he rose through the ranks to become a professor in 1976. He is currently Paul J. Thomas Professor of Molecular Genetics and Director of the Jonsson Center for Molecular Genetics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. Dr. Brown is a former member of the Board of Directors of Pfizer, Inc. and was Chairman of its Science and Technology Committee. Dr. Brown and his long-time colleague, Dr. Joseph L. Goldstein, together discovered the low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor, which controls the level of cholesterol in blood and in cells. They showed that mutations in this receptor cause Familial Hypercholesterolemia, a disorder that leads to premature heart attacks in one out of every 500 people in most populations. Their work laid the theoretical groundwork for the development of a class of drugs called statins that block cholesterol synthesis, increase LDL receptors, lower blood cholesterol and prevent heart attacks. Statins are taken daily by more than 20 million people worldwide. Brown and Goldstein have received many awards for this work, including the U.S. National Medal of Science and the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology.
Joseph L. Goldstein, M.D.
Joseph L. Goldstein and his colleague Michael S. Brown have worked together for the last 30 years on the genetics and regulation of cholesterol metabolism. Their discovery of the LDL receptor as the major molecule regulating cholesterol metabolism and its genetic disruption in the human disease familial hypercholesterolemia have been recognized by their receipt of numerous awards, including the Albert D. Lasker Award in Basic Medical Research (1985), Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1985), and the U.S. National Medal of Science (1988). More recently, Drs. Goldstein and Brown's discovery of the SREBP family of membrane-bound transcription factors and the elucidation of the proteolytic pathway by which the SREBPs become activated to regulate lipid metabolism were recognized by the receipt of the Albany Medical Prize in Biomedical Sciences in 2003. Dr. Goldstein is a past president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (1985-86) and was a member of the Governing Council of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (1991-94). He was also a Non-Resident Fellow of The Salk Institute (1983-1994) and served as Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1995-2002). Currently, Dr. Goldstein is a member of the Board of Trustees of The Rockefeller University and the Board of Trustees of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and he serves on several scientific advisory boards for academic institutions and biotechnology companies. He is also Chairman of the Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards Jury.