1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Dr. Michael Brown
Dr. Joseph Goldstein

Drs. Brown and Goldstein personify the team dynamic at the heart of UT Southwestern’s approach to research. They shared the 1985 Nobel Prize for their discovery of the underlying mechanisms of cholesterol metabolism. Their findings led to the development of statin drugs, the cholesterol-lowering compounds that today are used by 16 million Americans and are the most widely prescribed medications in the United States. And their discovery is improving more lives every year. New federal cholesterol guidelines will triple the number of Americans taking statin drugs to lower their cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke for countless people.


1988 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Dr. Johann Deisenhofer

Dr. Deisenhofer’s Nobel-winning research used X-ray crystallography to elucidate for the first time the three-dimensional structure of a large membrane-bound protein molecule. This structure helped explain the process of photosynthesis, by which sunlight is converted to chemical energy. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the Nobel Prize, describes photosynthesis as the most important chemical reaction on earth. Dr. Deisenhofer’s ongoing work is helping UT Southwestern advance medical science at the molecular level, by determining the structures of proteins involved in disease.

1994 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Dr. Alfred Gilman

Dr. Gilman’s Nobel-winning studies on “G proteins" discovered a major language that cells use to communicate, that is, how cells receive and respond to external stimuli, thus controlling the most fundamental processes in the human body. Like all of his fellow Nobel laureates at UT Southwestern, Dr. Gilman was less than 40 years old when he did the work for which he won the Nobel Prize. Great discoveries tend to come from young scientists. As executive vice president for academic affairs, provost, and dean of UT Southwestern Medical School, Dr. Gilman takes a leading role in attracting and guiding the brilliant newcomers who will win the large research grants, make the important discoveries and perhaps become the next Nobel laureates.