How shiny is a Nobel Prize?

This might be a fun time to find out.

On October 1, NIH announced that another NIH affiliated scientist has won a Nobel Prize.

Anyone curious about what exactly a Nobel prize looks like is welcome to visit the Reading Room of the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, where the Nobel Prize awarded to Marshall Nirenberg is on permanent display.

With the addition of National Institutes of Health grantee James P. Allison, Ph.D., of the University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 154 NIH affiliated scientists have received Nobel Prizes. Dr. Allison shares the prize with Tasuku Honjo, M.D., Ph.D., of Kyoto University Institute, Japan. Dr. Allison and Dr. Honjo share the award for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation.

In praising Dr. Allison, NIH Director Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., said, “Jim’s work was pivotal for cancer therapy by enlisting our own immune systems to launch an attack on cancer and arrest its development. NIH is proud to have supported this groundbreaking research.”

NLM is proud to have a Nobel Prize available for the public.

Marshall Nirenberg’s Nobel Prize medal is on display in the History of Medicine Reading Room at NLM and can be viewed upon request during Library hours, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

So, just how shiny is a Nobel Prize?

You don’t need sunglasses, but seeing a Nobel Prize in person is an awe-inspiring experience.

It’s bright. It’s beautiful. It’s impressive.

More information:

About Dr. Allison and Dr. Honjo

About NLM and the Nobel Prize Ceremony

About NLM and Marshall Nirenberg

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