Joseph L. Goldstein

Facts

Joseph L. Goldstein

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Joseph L. Goldstein
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1985

Born: 18 April 1940, Sumter, SC, USA

Affiliation at the time of the award: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA

Prize motivation: “for their discoveries concerning the regulation of cholesterol metabolism”

Prize share: 1/2

Work

Cholesterol is an important component in the body’s cells and plays an important role in several biochemical processes. Too much cholesterol in the blood can cause problems, however, by forming strictures in blood vessels. In 1973 Joseph Goldstein and Michael Brown discovered the receptor, or receiver, in cells that takes in cholesterol and clarified how the conversion of cholesterol is regulated by our genes and other substances. The discoveries became the basis for statins, medications that reduce cholesterol levels in the blood.

To cite this section
MLA style: Joseph L. Goldstein – Facts. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2023. Mon. 29 May 2023. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1985/goldstein/facts/>

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