Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research presented to Greider, Blackburn, and Szostak for telomere and telomerase work.
On 10 March 2006, Carol W. Greider, Elizabeth H. Blackburn, and Jack W. Szostak received the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research at a ceremony in New York City for their discoveries concerning telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.
The Lasker Foundation honored the trio for revealing how chromosome ends are maintained and protected, citing their demonstration that telomerase counteracts progressive telomere shortening and thereby influences cell lifespan and genomic stability. The award is often described as “America’s Nobel,” and many Lasker laureates later become Nobel Prize recipients.
This event was historically significant because it recognized telomere and telomerase biology as central to modern medicine, with implications for cancer, degenerative diseases, and aging. For Greider, the ceremony marked her elevation into the small cohort of women scientists to receive a Lasker Award, highlighting her leadership in a field where major prizes had long been dominated by men.
The 2006 Lasker ceremony contributed to consolidating international appreciation of telomerase research and helped pave the way for the trio’s Nobel Prize in 2009. It underscored the translation of basic molecular discoveries into medical insight and showcased Greider’s role in bridging fundamental chromosome biology with disease-oriented research.