Carol Greider Bio, Wiki, Age, Husband, Telomeres, Nobel Prize, and Net Worth

Carol Greider Bio | Wiki

Carol Greider is an American molecular biologist and Nobel laureate. She serves as a Distinguished Professor in the department of molecular, cell, and developmental biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz where she joined in October 2020.

Carol discovered the enzyme telomerase in 1984, while she was a graduate student of Elizabeth Blackburn at the University of California, Berkeley. She pioneered research on the structure of telomeres, the ends of the chromosomes. Carol was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, along with Blackburn and Jack W. Szostak.

Carol Greider Age

Carol was born on April 15, 1961, in San Diego, California, United States. She is 61 years old.

Carol Greider Height

She is a woman of average stature and stands at a height of 5 ft 5 in (Approx. 1.65 m).

Carol Greider's photo
Carol’s photo

Carol Greider Family

She was born in San Diego, California to her father Kenneth Greider, and her mother. Carol’s father was a physics professor. Her family moved from San Diego to Davis, California, where she spent many of her early years. She is dyslexic and states that her “compensatory skills also played a role in my success as a scientist.

Carol Greider Husband

Carol was previously married to her ex-husband Nathaniel C. Comfort. He is a fellow academic and specializes in the history of biology. The two celebrated their wedding in 1992 and divorced in 2011. Together, they share two children.

Carol Greider Education | Ucsc

She initially had difficulty getting into graduate school because of her low GRE scores, a result of her dyslexia. Carol applied to thirteen grad schools and was accepted to only two, California Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley. She chose Berkeley, where she would be able to work with Elizabeth Blackburn and where the two would make their telomerase discovery. Currently, Carol serves as a professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology at UCSC.

Carol Greider Nobel Prize

Carol received the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, along with Blackburn and Jack W. Szostak, for their discovery that telomeres are protected from progressive shortening by the enzyme telomerase. They also shared the 2006 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research for their work on telomeres.

Carol Greider Telomeres

Carol discovered the enzyme telomerase in 1984, while she was a graduate student of Elizabeth Blackburn at the University of California, Berkeley. She pioneered research on the structure of telomeres, the ends of the chromosomes.

She was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, along with Blackburn and Jack W. Szostak, for their discovery that telomeres are protected from progressive shortening by the enzyme telomerase. Telomerase rebuilds the tips of chromosomes and determines the life span of cells.

Carol’s additional research to confirm her discovery was largely focused on identifying the mechanism that telomerase uses for elongation. She chose to use RNA degrading enzymes and saw that the telomeres stopped extending, which was an indication that RNA was involved in the enzyme.

Carol Greider And Elizabeth Blackburn

Carol completed her Ph.D. in molecular biology in 1987 at Berkeley under Elizabeth Blackburn. While at Berkeley, the two discovered how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase. Carol joined Blackburn’s laboratory in April 1984. Together with Szostak, the three shared the 2006 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research for their work on telomeres, before jointly receiving the Nobel Prize in 2009.

Carol Greider Dyslexia

Carol is dyslexic and states that her compensatory skills also played a role in her success as a scientist because one has to intuit many different things that are going on at the same time and apply those to a particular problem.

She initially suspected her dyslexia after seeing patterns of common mistakes such as backward words when she received back graded work in the first grade. Carol has worked significantly to overcome her dyslexia to become successful in her professional life and credits her dyslexia as helping her appreciate differences and making unusual decisions such as the one to work with Tetrahymena, an unusual organism

Carol Greider Net Worth

She earns her wealth from her career, therefore, she has amassed a fortune over the years. Carol’s estimated net worth is $2 million.

Who Is Carol Greider

Carol is an American molecular biologist and Nobel laureate. She serves as a Distinguished Professor in the department of molecular, cell, and developmental biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz where she joined in October 2020.

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