Jeffrey M. Friedman is a molecular geneticist at New York City's Rockefeller University and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His discovery of the hormone leptin and its role in regulating body weight has had a major role in the area of human obesity.Friedman is a physician scientist studying the genetic mechanisms that regulate body weight. His research on various aspects of obesity received national attention in late 1994, when it was announced that he and his colleagues had isolated the mouse ob gene and its human homologue. They subsequently found that injections of the encoded protein, leptin, decreases body weight of mice by reducing food intake and increasing energy expenditure. Current research is aimed at understanding the genetic basis of obesity in human and the mechanisms by which leptin transmits its weight-reducing signal.
| Born: | 20, 1954, Orlando, Florida, USA |
| Nationality: | USA |
| Fields: | Molecular genetics |
| Institutions: | Rockefeller University |
| Alma mater: | Rockefeller University (PhD) |
| Thesis: | Regulation of liver gene expression (1986) |
| Known for: | discovery of the hormone leptin and its role in regulating body weight |
| Notable awards: | Shaw Prize (2009), Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (2010), BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2012), Foreign Member of the Royal Society (2018) |
About Jeffrey M. Friedman
Geneticist who discovered the hormone leptin, which transmits a weight-reducing signal by reducing food intake and increasing energy expenditure. His research has a major role in how we understand and combat human obesity
Before Fame
He received his medical degree from Albany Medical College when he was just 22 years old.
Achievement
He was awarded the Danone International Prize for Nutrition in 2007.
Family Life
He has two daughters named Alex and Nathalie.
Associations
He was featured on "Scientific American Frontiers" with host Alan Alda.
Information related to Jeffrey M. Friedman
- Albany Medical College alumni
- George W. Hewlett High School alumni
- Rockefeller University alumni
- Rockefeller University faculty
- Recipients of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
- Howard Hughes Medical Investigators
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni
- American medical researchers
- Foreign Members of the Royal Society
