Paul Nurse

Paul Nurse

President, Rockefeller University; Nobel Laureate

Paul Nurse, Ph.D, is a British biochemist. He was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Leland H. Hartwell and R. Timothy Hunt for their discoveries regarding cell cycle regulation by cyclin and cyclin dependent kinases.  He became Rockefeller University's ninth president in 2003.

Two red-toned, woodcut-style portraits side by side: one of a gorilla and one of an older man with a beard, on a beige background.
8 min
The history of natural selection, in 7 minutes
“The idea of evolution by natural selection is, for me, probably the most beautiful idea in biology.”
A sequence of six yellow-gold spheres illustrates stages of cell division against a black background.
44 min
Life is older, weirder, and more interconnected than we ever thought
"If we're related to every living thing on the planet, do we not have a special responsibility for every living thing on this planet? They are really all our relatives."
a close up of a fish under water.
8 min
What is life?
Nobel Prize-winning scientist Paul Nurse defines the 5 core principles of life.
3 min
Arrogance Is the Largest Obstacle to Achieving Global Health
Nobel Laureate Paul Nurse says benevolent intentions and money alone are insufficient.
3 min
Diagnosis is Not Enough, Measuring Medical Outcomes is Critical
Biochemist Paul Nurse says that if you make incorrect assumptions in analysis, things can go bad quickly for public health.
5 min
Can Your Genes Trump Unhealthy Behavior?
Prevention is very important, but scientists often don’t focus on it because it’s quite a difficult subject to study and often requires very long-term trials.
11 min
Big Think Interview With Paul Nurse
A conversation with the Nobel Laureate and President of Rockefeller University.