Professor Yosef Shiloh Receives First Olav Thon Foundation Prize

Professor Yosef Shiloh from Sackler's Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry was awarded the first Olav Thon Prize for Natural Sciences and Medicine for his pioneering research. The Olav Thon Foundation supports scientific projects in mathematics, medicine, and the natural sciences, and it is now the largest charitable organization in Norway.  At the ceremony on March 5, 2015, the Foundation awarded their first annual prize to TAU Prof. Shiloh and to Judith Campisi of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in California. The prize money, 5 million Norwegian Krones (approximately US$660,000) was split between the two winners.

Prof. Shiloh currently serves as the Myers Chair for Cancer Genetics and as member of the Israel National Academy of Sciences and Humanities. In 2011, he received the prestigious Israel Prize ("Israel's Nobel") in Life Sciences and the G.H.A. Clowes Award from the American Association of Cancer Research.  In 2005, he was awarded the 2005 EMET Prize in Life Sciences from The A.M.N. Foundation for the Advancement of Science, Art and Culture and the Prime Minister of the State of Israel. He has published more than 170 peer-reviewed articles and written two books.

He has devoted most of his academic career to understanding the genomic instability syndrome, ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T). The disease damages the nervous system and the immune system and increases the likelihood of cancer due to a problem with DNA-repairing mechanisms. He began his work on A-T while working on his PhD thesis, and this quest culminated in 1995 with the identification of the responsible gene, ATM, in his lab. He and his team have since engaged in exploring its function, its mode of action, and its many roles in cellular metabolism.

"A prize means scientific recognition," said Prof. Shiloh. "Scientists do not work in order to get prizes or any other monetary benefits, but the award of a prize means that our work is recognized by our colleagues, and this is probably the true reward of a scientist."