Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

The following table lists every winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, from 1901 through 2016. For years not listed, no award was made.


1901
Emil A. von Behring (Germany), for work on serum therapy against diphtheria
1902
Sir Ronald Ross (U.K.), for work on malaria
1903
Niels R. Finsen (Denmark), for his treatment of lupus vulgaris with concentrated light rays
1904
Ivan P. Pavlov (U.S.S.R.), for work on the physiology of digestion
1905
Robert Koch (Germany), for work on tuberculosis
1906
Camillo Golgi (Italy) and Santiago Ramón y Cajal (Spain), for work on structure of the nervous system
1907
Charles L. A. Laveran (France), for work with protozoa in the generation of disease
1908
Paul Ehrlich (Germany) and Elie Metchnikoff (Russia), for work on immunity
1909
Theodor Kocher (Switzerland), for work on the thyroid gland
1910
Albrecht Kossel (Germany), for achievements in the chemistry of the cell
1911
Allvar Gullstrand (Sweden), for work on the dioptrics of the eye
1912
Alexis Carrel (France), for work on vascular ligature and grafting of blood vessels and organs
1913
Charles Richet (France), for work on anaphylaxy
1914
Robert Bárány (Austria), for work on physiology and pathology of the vestibular system
1919
Jules Bordet (Belgium), for discoveries in connection with immunity
1920
August Krogh (Denmark), for discovery of regulation of capillaries' motor mechanism
1922
In 1923, the 1922 prize was shared by Archibald V. Hill (U.K.), for discovery relating to heat-production in muscles; and Otto Meyerhof (Germany), for correlation between consumption of oxygen and production of lactic acid in muscles
1923
Sir Frederick Banting (Canada) and John J. R. Macleod (Scotland), for discovery of insulin
1924
Willem Einthoven (Netherlands), for discovery of the mechanism of the electrocardiogram
1926
Johannes Fibiger (Denmark), for discovery of the Spiroptera carcinoma
1927
Julius Wagner-Jauregg (Austria), for use of malaria inoculation in treatment of dementia paralytica
1928
Charles Nicolle (France), for work on typhus exanthematicus
1929
Christiaan Eijkman (Netherlands), for discovery of the antineuritic vitamins; and Sir Frederick Hopkins (U.K.), for discovery of growth-promoting vitamins
1930
Karl Landsteiner (U.S.), for discovery of human blood groups
1931
Otto H. Warburg (Germany), for discovery of the character and mode of action of the respiratory ferment
1932
Sir Charles Sherrington (U.K.) and Edgar D. Adrian (U.S.), for discoveries of the function of the neuron
1933
Thomas H. Morgan (U.S.), for discoveries on hereditary function of the chromosomes
1934
George H. Whipple, George R. Minot, and William P. Murphy (U.S.), for discovery of liver therapy against anemias
1935
Hans Spemann (Germany), for discovery of the organizer effect in embryonic development
1936
Sir Henry Dale (U.K.) and Otto Loewi (Germany), for discoveries on chemical transmission of nerve impulses
1937
Albert Szent-Györgyi von Nagyrapolt (Hungary), for discoveries on biological combustion
1938
Corneille Heymans (Belgium), for determining importance of sinus and aorta mechanisms in the regulation of respiration
1939
Gerhard Domagk (Germany), for antibacterial effect of prontocilate
1943
Henrik Dam (Denmark) and Edward A. Doisy (U.S.), for analysis of vitamin K
1944
Joseph Erlanger and Herbert Spencer Gasser (both U.S.), for work on functions of the nerve threads
1945
Sir Alexander Fleming, Ernst Boris Chain, and Sir Howard Florey (all U.K.), for discovery of penicillin
1946
Herman J. Muller (U.S.), for hereditary effects of X-rays on genes
1947
Carl F. and Gerty T. Cori (U.S.), for work on animal starch metabolism; Bernardo A. Houssay (Argentina), for study of pituitary
1948
Paul Mueller (Switzerland), for discovery of insect-killing properties of DDT
1949
Walter Rudolf Hess (Switzerland), for research on brain control of body; and Antonio Caetano de Abreu Freire Egas Moniz (Portugal), for development of brain operation
1950
Philip S. Hench, Edward C. Kendall (both U.S.), and Tadeus Reichstein (Switzerland), for discoveries about hormones of adrenal cortex
1951
Max Theiler (South Africa), for development of anti-yellow-fever vaccine
1952
Selman A. Waksman (U.S.), for co-discovery of streptomycin
1953
Fritz A. Lipmann (Germany-U.S.) and Hans Adolph Krebs (Germany-U.K.), for studies of living cells
1954
John F. Enders, Thomas H. Weller, and Frederick C. Robbins (all U.S.), for work with cultivation of polio virus
1955
Hugo Theorell (Sweden), for work on oxidation enzymes
1956
Dickinson W. Richards, Jr., André F. Cournand (both U.S.), and Werner Forssmann (Germany), for new techniques in treating heart disease
1957
Daniel Bovet (Italy), for development of drugs to relieve allergies and relax muscles during surgery
1958
Joshua Lederberg (U.S.), for work with genetic mechanisms; George W. Beadle and Edward L. Tatum (both U.S.), for discovering how genes transmit hereditary characteristics
1959
Severo Ochoa and Arthur Kornberg (both U.S.), for discoveries related to compounds within chromosomes that play a vital role in heredity
1960
Sir Macfarlane Burnet (Australia) and Peter Brian Medawar (U.K.), for discovery of acquired immunological tolerance
1961
Georg von Bekesy (U.S.), for discoveries about physical mechanisms of stimulation within cochlea
1962
James D. Watson (U.S.), Maurice H. F. Wilkins, and Francis H. C. Crick (both U.K.), for determining structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
1963
Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, Andrew Fielding Huxley (both U.K.), and Sir John Carew Eccles (Australia), for research on nerve cells
1964
Konrad E. Bloch (U.S.) and Feodor Lynen (Germany), for research on mechanism and regulation of cholesterol and fatty-acid metabolism
1965
François Jacob, André Lwoff, and Jacques Monod (all France), for study of regulatory activities in body cells
1966
Charles Brenton Huggins (U.S.), for studies in hormone treatment of cancer of prostate; Francis Peyton Rous (U.S.), for discovery of tumor-producing viruses
1967
Haldan K. Hartline, George Wald (both U.S.), and Ragnar Granit (Sweden), for work on human eye
1968
Robert W. Holley, Har Gobind Khorana, and Marshall W. Nirenberg (all U.S.), for studies of genetic code
1969
Max Delbruck, Alfred D. Hershey, and Salvador E. Luria (all U.S.), for study of mechanism of virus infection in living cells
1970
Julius Axelrod (U.S.), Ulf S. von Euler (Sweden), and Sir Bernard Katz (U.K.), for studies of how nerve impulses are transmitted within the body
1971
Earl W. Sutherland, Jr. (U.S.), for research on how hormones work
1972
Gerald M. Edelman (U.S.), and Rodney R. Porter (U.K.), for research on the chemical structure and nature of antibodies
1973
Karl von Frisch, Konrad Lorenz (both Austria), and Nikolaas Tinbergen (Netherlands), for their studies of individual and social behavior patterns
1974
George E. Palade, Christian de Duve (both U.S.), and Albert Claude (Belgium), for contributions to understanding inner workings of living cells
1975
David Baltimore, Howard M. Temin, and Renato Dulbecco (all U.S.), for work in interaction between tumor viruses and genetic material of the cell
1976
Baruch S. Blumberg and D. Carleton Gajdusek (both U.S.), for discoveries concerning new mechanisms for the origin and dissemination of infectious diseases
1977
Rosalyn S. Yalow, Roger C. L. Guillemin, and Andrew V. Schally (all U.S.), for research in role of hormones in chemistry of the body
1978
Daniel Nathans, Hamilton Smith (both U.S.), and Werner Arber (Switzerland), for discovery of restriction enzymes and their application to problems of molecular genetics
1979
Allan MacLeod Cormack (U.S.) and Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield (U.K.), for developing computed axial tomography (CAT scan) X-ray technique
1980
Baruj Benacerraf, George D. Snell (both U.S.), and Jean Dausset (France), for discoveries that explain how the structure of cells relates to organ transplants and diseases
1981
Roger W. Sperry, David H. Hubel (both U.S.), and Torsten N. Wiesel (Sweden), for studies vital to understanding the organization and functioning of the brain
1982
Sune Bergstrom, Bengt Samuelsson (both Sweden), and John R. Vane (U.K.), for research in prostaglandins, hormonelike substances involved in a wide range of illnesses
1983
Barbara McClintock (U.S.), for her discovery of mobile genes in the chromosomes of a plant that change the future generations of plants they produce
1984
Cesar Milstein (U.K./Argentina), Georges J. F. Kohler (West Germany), and Niels K. Jerne (U.K./Denmark), for their work in immunology
1985
Michael S. Brown and Joseph L. Goldstein (both U.S.), for their work, which has drastically widened our understanding of the cholesterol metabolism and increased our possibilities to prevent and treat atherosclerosis and heart attacks
1986
Rita Levi-Montalcini (dual U.S./Italy) and Stanley Cohen (U.S.), for their contributions to the understanding of substances that influence cell growth
1987
Susumu Tonegawa (Japan), for his discoveries of how the body can suddenly marshal its immunological defenses against millions of different disease agents that it has never encountered before
1988
Gertrude B. Elion, George H. Hitchings (both U.S.), and Sir James Black (U.K.), for their discoveries of important principles for drug treatment
1989
J. Michael Bishop and Harold E. Varmus (both U.S.), for their unifying theory of cancer development
1990
Joseph E. Murray and E. Donnall Thomas (both U.S.), for their pioneering work in transplants
1991
Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann (both Germany), for their research, particularly for the development of a technique called patch clamp
1992
Edmond H. Fischer and Edwin G. Krebs (both U.S.), for their discovery of a regulatory mechanism affecting almost all cells
1993
Phillip A. Sharp (U.S.) and Richard J. Roberts (U.K.), for their independent discovery in 1977 of “split genes”
1994
Alfred G. Gilman and Martin Rodbell (both U.S.), for discovery of G-proteins that help cells respond to outside signals
1995
Edward B. Lewis, Eric F. Wieschaus (both U.S.), and Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard (Germany), for studies of the fruit fly that will help explain congenital malformations in humans
1996
Peter C. Doherty (Australia) and Rolf M. Zinkernagel (Switzerland), for discoveries about how the immune system recognizes virus-infected cells
1997
Stanley B. Prusiner (U.S.), for discovery of a new type of germ, called prions, that causes degenerative brain disorders
1998
Robert F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro, and Ferid Murad (all U.S.), for discovering that nitric oxide acts as a signal in the cardiovascular system
1999
Günter Blobel (Germany and U.S.), for discovering that proteins have signals that govern their transport and localization in the cell
2000
Arvid Carlsson (Sweden), Paul Greengard, and Eric Kandel (both U.S.), for discoveries concerning signal transduction in the nervous system
2001
Leland H. Hartwell (U.S.), R. Timothy Hunt, and Paul M. Nurse (both UK), for discoveries concerning control of the cell cycle, which may make new cancer treatments possible.
2002
Sydney Brenner (UK), H. Robert Horvitz (U.S.), and John E. Sulston (UK) for discoveries concerning genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death.
2003
Paul C. Lauterbur (U.S.) and Sir Peter Mansfield (UK) for discoveries leading to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
2004
Richard Axel and Linda Buck (both U.S.) “for their discoveries of odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system.”
2005
Barry J. Marshall and J. Robin Warren (both Australia)
2006
Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello (both U.S.) for “their discovery of RNA interference - gene silencing by double-stranded RNA”
2007
Mario R. Capecchi (U.S.), Sir Martin J. Evans (U.K.), and Oliver Smithies (U.S.) for "their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells"
2008
Harald zur Hausen (Germany) for his discovery that the human papilloma viruses (HPV) causes cervical cancer and to Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier (both France) for their discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
2009
Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider, and Jack W. Szostak (all U.S) for "the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase"
2010
Robert G. Edwards (UK) for "for the development of in vitro fertilization"
2011
One-half jointly to Bruce A. Beutler (U.S.) and Jules A. Hoffmann (Luxembourg) "for their discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity"; and one-half to Ralph M. Steinman (Canada) "for his discovery of the dendritic cell and its role in adaptive immunity"
2012
Jointly to Sir John B. Gurdon (UK) and Shinya Yamanaka (Japan) "for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent"
2013
Jointly to James E. Rothman (U.S.), Randy W. Schekman (U.S.), and Thomas C. Sudhof (Germany) for "their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells"
2014
One-half jointly to May-Britt Moser (Norway) and Edvard I. Moser (Norway), and one-half to John O'Keefe (U.S. and UK), for "their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain"
2015
One-half jointly to William C. Campbell (Ireland/U.S.) and Satoshi Ōmura (Japan), "for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites"
2016
To Yoshinori Ohsumi(Japan), "for his discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy"

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