Oncogenes

Robert Weinberg ’64, PhD ’69, Faculty

Weinberg is a pioneer in cancer research, best known for his 1982 discovery of the first human oncogenes—a gene that causes normal cells to form tumors—and the first tumor suppressor gene. In 1999, his research team used this knowledge to successfully convert normal cells into tumor cells in a culture dish. Weinberg received the National Medal of Science in 1997.