For identifying the first T cell receptor genes responsible for the detection of foreign antigens, contributing to the characterization of T cell receptor variable regions and for developing imaging techniques capable of capturing interactions that occur at immunological synapses.
A world-renowned cancer researcher, Dr. Hannon is heralded for his contributions to the field of cancer biology including his work dedicated to integrating small RNA biology with genomics to better understand the etiology of disease and identify new drug targets for the treatment of cancer. His research has elucidated the fundamental mechanisms of cell cycle regulation, with key discoveries including his identification of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors and characterization of their role in cancer progression. Dr. Hannon and colleagues discovered p15, a tumor suppressor protein that inhibits CDK, a protein that has since been proven to be critically important in tumor cells to prevent cell growth and division. In addition, Dr. Hannon co-led research studies that led to the identification of another CDK inhibitor and tumor suppressor, p16, and demonstrated that this protein is capable of decelerating cell cycle progression at the G1-S transition. He also contributed to the discovery of a third CDK inhibitor, p21, whose loss of function leads to neoplastic transformation.
Dr. Hannon has also made groundbreaking contributions towards the understanding of small RNAs and the role that they play in cancer, including developing genome-wide short hairpin RNA (shRNA) libraries and microRNAs. Together with his research group, Dr. Hannon demonstrated in Drosophila melanogaster that specific mRNA transcript targets can be silenced using complimentary double-stranded RNA molecules that signal for enzymatic degradation. He also characterized key enzymes involved in the silencing pathway, namely Dicer and Argonaute. In subsequent groundbreaking studies, Dr. Hannon developed a protocol by which to stably knock-down gene expression in mammalian cells using RNAi technology. He also elucidated key factors of the piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway and the critical role of such RNA during embryonic development. He is also credited with developing genome partitioning technologies including exome capture and with contributing to the generation of virtual reality tumor maps to further understand the molecular composition and interactions of tumor cells in an attempt to develop personalized therapies for patients.
Selected Awards and Honors
2018 Elected Member, Henry Kunkel Society, New York, New York
2016 Elected Foreign Member, The Royal Society, London, United Kingdom
2004 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, Frankfurt, Germany
2004 Elected Member, National Academy of Medicine, Washington, DC
2003 Ernst W. Bertner Memorial Award, The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
2000 William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic and Tumor Immunology, Cancer Research Institute, New York, New York
2000 Elected Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts
1998 Novartis Prize for Basic Immunology, Novartis, Basel, Switzerland
1996 Pius XI Medal, Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Vatican City State
1996 Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., Prize, General Motors Cancer Research Foundation, New York, New York
1995 King Faisal International Prize for Science, King Faisal Foundation, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
1993 Elected Member, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC
1989 Canada Gairdner International Award, Gairdner Foundation, Toronto, Canada
1988 Howard Taylor Ricketts Award, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
1985 Young Scientist Award, The Passano Foundation, Baltimore, Maryland