Carol W. Greider

Carol W. Greider is an American molecular biologist who co-discovered telomerase with Elizabeth Blackburn and shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Elizabeth Blackburn: Elizabeth Blackburn is an Australian-American molecular biologist who co-discovered telomerase and shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Greider joined Blackburn’s laboratory and collaborated with her in discovering telomerase.
Telomerase: Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein enzyme that extends chromosome ends using an internal RNA template. Greider and Blackburn identified this enzyme through experiments on the ciliate Tetrahymena.
Telomerase discovery: The discovery of telomerase established that an enzyme can add repeated DNA sequences to chromosome ends. Greider’s 1984 experiments with Blackburn provided the first evidence for the enzyme.
Cancer biology: Cancer biology studies the molecular and cellular processes that cause tumors to develop and progress. Many cancers reactivate telomerase, enabling continued chromosome maintenance during extensive cell division.
Telomere biology: Telomere biology studies chromosome-end structures, their maintenance, and their effects on cells and organisms. Greider’s discovery helped establish the field’s central question: how chromosome ends are maintained.
Jack Szostak: Jack Szostak is a molecular biologist whose research on telomeres and chromosome stability earned him the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He shared the Nobel Prize with Greider and Blackburn for discoveries about how telomeres are protected.
Telomere: A telomere is a repeated DNA–protein structure that protects the end of a linear chromosome. Telomerase extends telomeres, the chromosome-end structures central to Greider’s discovery.
Telomere sequence: A telomere sequence is a short DNA repeat found at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. The repeated sequence in Tetrahymena’s telomeres gave the assay a detectable product.
Cellular senescence: Cellular senescence is a durable state in which a cell stops dividing while remaining metabolically active. Telomere shortening can trigger senescence, linking Greider’s research to limits on cell division.
Chromosome stability: Chromosome stability is the preservation of chromosome structure and accurate inheritance across cell divisions. Telomeres prevent chromosome ends from being treated as broken DNA, a function clarified by telomerase research.

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Jack W. SzostakRelated: She identified the enzyme central to the Nobel-recognized telomere research.