Mr Blobel was born inWaltersdorfin thePrussianProvince
of Lower Silesia.
In January 1945 his family fled from nativeSilesiafrom the
advancing Red Army. On their way to the West they passed through the beautiful
old city ofDresden, which left deep impressions in the
young boy. Only days after their stayDresden was destroyed
in the catastrophicair bombingbetween 13 February and 15 February
1945. The family could witness this event some 30 kilometers away and the young
boy again was deeply impressed by the red night sky reflecting the firestorm in
the burning city, but the war was still not at its end and Blobel's 19-year-old
sister was killed some weeks later in an air attack on a train she was
travelling in, and buried in a mass grave. After the war Günter Blobel grew up and
attendedgymnasiumin theSaxontown ofFreiberg.
He graduated at theUniversity of Tübingenin 1960 and received his Ph.D. from
theUniversity of
Wisconsin–Madisonin 1967. He was
appointed to theHoward Hughes
Medical Institutein 1986.
Blobel was awarded the 1999Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicinefor the discovery of signal peptides.Signal peptides form an integral part
ofprotein targeting, a mechanism
for cells to direct newly synthesizedproteinmolecules to their proper location by
means of an "address tag" (i.e. a signal peptide) within the molecule. Blobel is also well known for his direct
and active support for the rebuilding ofDresdenin Germany,
becoming, in 1994, the founder and president of the nonprofit "Friends of
Dresden, Inc." He donated all of the Nobel award money to the restoration
ofDresden,
in particular for the rebuilding of theFrauenkirche(completed in 2005) and the building
of a newsynagogue. InLeipzighe pursued a rebuilding of
thePaulinerkirchewhich had been blown up by the
communist regime ofEast
Germany in
1968, arguing: "This is much more than a church — this is a shrine of
German cultural history, connected to the most important names in German
cultural history." Blobel has worked at theRockefellerUniversityinNew York Citysince 1968. He lives in Manhattan'sUpper East Sidewith
his wife and threeEnglish setterdogs. He is also on the board of
directors forNestléand the Board of Scientific Governors
atThe Scripps Research
Institute. Furthermore, he is also Co-Founder and Chairman of the Scientific
Advisory Board for Chromocell Corporation. Scientific Awards: 1978:NationalAcademy of Sciences' U.S. Steel Foundation Award in
Molecular Biology 1982:Gairdner Foundation International Award 1987:Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from ColumbiaUniversity 1993:Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research 1995:Ciba Drew Award in Biomedical Research 1996:King Faisal Award 1997:Mayor's Award for Excellence in Science and Technology 1999:Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2001:PontificalAcademy of Sciences
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