Roger Y. Tsien

Facts

Roger Y. Tsien

© The Nobel Foundation. Photo: U. Montan

Roger Y. Tsien
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2008

Born: 1 February 1952, New York, NY, USA

Died: 24 August 2016, Eugene, OR, USA

Affiliation at the time of the award: University of California, San Diego, CA, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USA

Prize motivation: “for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP”

Prize share: 1/3

Work

Some organisms produce what has been named Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), which emits a shimmering light. The formation of GFP is regulated by a gene that can be incorporated into the genomes of other organisms. Because GFP can be linked to other proteins thanks to genetic engineering, it has become an important tool for studying biological processes in cells. During the 1990s, Roger Y. Tsien elucidated how GFP produces its shimmering light and succeeded in varying the color of the light so that different proteins and multiple, simultaneous biological processes could be tracked.

To cite this section
MLA style: Roger Y. Tsien – Facts. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Tue. 19 Mar 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2008/tsien/facts/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Nobel Prizes and laureates

Eleven laureates were awarded a Nobel Prize in 2023, for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. Their work and discoveries range from effective mRNA vaccines and attosecond physics to fighting against the oppression of women.

See them all presented here.
Illustration

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.