MINNEAPOLIS, April 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bio-Techne
Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) today announced a member of its board of
directors, Dr. Roeland Nusse, has
become one of the 2020 Canada Gairdner International Award
recipients.
The Gairdner Foundation was established in 1957 with the main
goal of recognizing and rewarding international excellence in
fundamental research that impacts human health. Annually, seven
awards are given: five Canada Gairdner International Awards for
biomedical research, one John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health
Award, specifically for impact on global health issues, and one
Canada Gairdner Wightman Award, reserved for a Canadian. To date
395 awards have been bestowed on laureates from 35 countries and of
those awardees, 92 have gone on to receive Nobel Prizes. Laureates
each receive Can$100,000.
Dr. Nusse was one of five recent recipients of the Canada
Gairdner International Award "for pioneering work on the Wnt
signaling pathway and its importance in development, cancer and
stem cells" announced on March 31,
2020. Among Dr. Nusse's contributions is the original
discovery of the first Wnt gene (together with Harold Varmus) as an
oncogene in mouse breast cancer. Afterwards Dr. Nusse identified
the Drosophila Wnt homolog as a key developmental gene, Wingless.
This led to the appreciation of the links between normal cell
development and cancer when these pathways are dis-regulated. Dr.
Nusse used the fruit fly (Drosophila) genetics to elucidate the
function of beta-catenin as a mediator of Wnt signaling and the
Frizzleds as Wnt receptors, work done in collaboration with
Jeremy Nathans.
Chuck Kummeth, President and CEO
of Bio-Techne stated: "We are honored to have Dr. Nusse on our
board of directors. His efforts in establishing the key elements of
the now recognized Wnt pathway is a great achievement and should be
celebrated. Dr. Nusse's successful purification of active Wnt
proteins, and the demonstration of their lipid-modifications endows
these molecules as stem cell growth factors, enabled Bio-Techne to
incorporate these proteins in its vast portfolio of products that
promote life science research. We appreciate Dr. Nusse's ongoing
dedication to his research and in providing sound guidance to
Bio-Techne."
Dr. Nusse joins an impressive list of past recipients of the
Gairdner Award, including Drs. Anthony
Fauci, Shinya Yamanaka,
Francis Collins, Jennifer Doudna, Francis
Crick, Tak Mak, Janet Rowley, Harold Varmus, Frederick Sanger, Paul
Berg and many others accomplished scientists who shaped our
current science knowledge. Many Gairdner prize winners went on to
be awarded the Nobel Prize.
About Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH)
Contact: David Clair, Senior
Director, Investor Relations & Corporate Development
david.clair@bio-techne.com
612-656-4416
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SOURCE Bio-Techne Corporation