By Bill Raack, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – A visiting professor of pediatrics at Washington University is one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Dr. Aaron Ciechanover was awarded the prize today for his part in the discovery of a process that cells use to eliminate unwanted proteins.
The head of the Department of Pediatrics at Wash inton University, Dr. Alan Schwartz, says Ciechanover's work is an important foundation for the future, The implications of these studies are extremely broad and they range everywhere from understanding common problems, such as how the body responds to infection and inflammation, to how the body responds with muscle loss and atrophy.
Dr. Ciechanover shares the Nobel Prize with researchers at the University of California-Irvine and Technion-Isreal Institute of Technology. It marks the 23rd Nobel associated with Washington University.