Four biomedical researchers took home the 2018 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences at the Breakthrough Prize award ceremony in Silicon Valley Dec. 3, according to STAT's Morning Rounds newsletter.
The award recipients were given $3 million for their efforts in research.
Here are the four winners.
1. Peter Walter, PhD, from the University of California-San Francisco. Dr. Walter took home the prize for his research on the unfolded protein response, which helps cells detect unfolded proteins that could cause disease such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.
2. Don Cleveland, PhD, from the University of California-San Diego was awarded the Breakthrough Prize for advancing research on neurological diseases.
3. Kazutoshi Mori, PhD, from Kyoto (Japan) University. Dr. Mori won the Breakthrough Prize for his research on the quality control system in cells, which can correct unfolded proteins.
4. Kim Nasmyth University of Oxford (England) received the award for discovering how DNA coils inside each cell without getting tangled.