View source for Elizabeth Blackburn

{{short description|Australian-born American biological researcher}}
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox scientist
| honorific_suffix  = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AC|FRS|FAA|FRSN|size=100}}
| image             = Elizabeth Blackburn in 2024 by Christopher Michel.jpg
| caption           = Elizabeth Blackburn in 2024
| name              = Elizabeth Blackburn
| birth_name        = Elizabeth Helen Blackburn
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1948|11|26}}
| birth_place       = [[Hobart]], [[Tasmania]], Australia
| citizenship       = Australian and American
| field             = Molecular biology
| work_institution  = {{Plainlist|
* [[University of California, Berkeley]]
* [[University of California, San Francisco]]
* [[Yale University]]
* [[MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology]]
* [[Salk Institute]]}}
| thesis_title      = Sequence studies on bacteriophage ØX174 DNA by transcription
| thesis_year       = 1974
| thesis_url        = http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.449954
| education         = {{Plainlist|
* [[University of Melbourne]] (BSc)
* [[University of Cambridge]] (PhD)}}
| doctoral_advisor  = [[Frederick Sanger]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2009/|title=Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009|publisher=[[Nobel Foundation]]|access-date=5 October 2009}}</ref>
| doctoral_students = [[Carol W. Greider]]
| prizes            = {{Plainlist|
* [[NAS Award in Molecular Biology]] (1990)
* [[Australia Prize]] (1998)
* [[Harvey Prize]] (1999)
* [[Dickson Prize]] (2000)
* [[Dr A.H. Heineken Prize|Heineken Prize]] (2004)
* [[Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research|Lasker Award]]
* [[Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize]]
* [[ASCB Public Service Award]] (2004)
* [[Meyenburg Prize]] (2006)
* [[L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science|L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science]] (2008)
* [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] (2009)<BR/>[[American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal|AIC Gold Medal]] (2012)}}
| website           = {{URL|http://biochemistry2.ucsf.edu/labs/blackburn}}
}}
'''Elizabeth Helen Blackburn''' (born 26 November 1948) is an [[Australian Americans|Australian-American]] Nobel laureate who is the former president of the [[Salk Institute for Biological Studies]].<ref name="Nobel laureate Elizabeth Blackburn named Salk Institute President"/>  In 1984, Blackburn co-discovered [[telomerase]], the [[enzyme]] that replenishes the telomere, with [[Carol W. Greider]]. For this work, she was awarded the 2009 [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]], sharing it with [[Carol W. Greider]] and [[Jack W. Szostak]], becoming the first Australian woman Nobel laureate.

She also worked in [[medical ethics]], and was controversially dismissed from the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]]'s [[President's Council on Bioethics]].  170 scientists signed an open letter to the president in her support, maintaining that she was fired because of political opposition to her advice.<ref>{{cite book 
 |last       = Brady
 |first      = Catherine
 |year       = 2007
 |title      = Elizabeth Blackburn and the Story of Telomeres
 |location   = Cambridge, Massachusetts
 |publisher  = The MIT Press
 |isbn       = 978-0-262-02622-2
 |url-access = registration
 |url        = https://archive.org/details/elizabethblackbu00brad_0
}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
[[File:Blackburn USE.png|thumb|Profile of Elizabeth Blackburn created by the organisation Science for All as part of the UN's [[International Day of Women and Girls in Science]]]]

Elizabeth Helen Blackburn, the second of seven children, was born in [[Hobart]], [[Tasmania]], on 26 November 1948, with both her parents being family [[physician]]s.<ref name="NobelPrize.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2009/blackburn/biographical/|title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009|website=NobelPrize.org|language=en-US|access-date=10 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="Grady-2013">{{Cite news |last=Grady |first=Denise |date=2013-04-08 |title=Charting Her Own Course |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/science/elizabeth-blackburn-molecular-biologist-charts-her-own-course.html |access-date=2023-02-16 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Her family moved to the city of [[Launceston, Tasmania|Launceston]] when she was four, where she attended the Broadland House Church of England Girls' Grammar School (later amalgamated with [[Launceston Church Grammar School]]) until the age of sixteen.

Upon her family's relocation to [[Melbourne]], she attended [[University High School, Melbourne|University High School]], and ultimately gained very high marks in the end-of-year final statewide matriculation exams.<ref>{{Harvnb|Brady|2007|pp=1–13}}</ref> She went on to earn a [[Bachelor of Science]] in 1970 and [[Master of Science]] in 1972, both from the [[University of Melbourne]] in the field of biochemistry. Blackburn then went to receive her [[PhD]] in 1975 from [[Darwin College, Cambridge|Darwin College]] at the [[University of Cambridge]],<ref name="Grady-2013" /> for work she did with [[Frederick Sanger]] at the [[MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology]] developing methods to sequence DNA using RNA, as well as studying the bacteriophage [[Phi X 174]].<ref name="NobelPrize.org" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nobel Prize {{!}} Women who changed science {{!}} Elizabeth Blackburn |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/womenwhochangedscience/stories/elizabeth-blackburn |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=www.nobelprize.org |language=en}}</ref>

== Career and research==
During her postdoctoral work at Yale, Blackburn was doing research on the protozoan ''[[Tetrahymena thermophila]]'' and noticed a repeating [[codon]] at the end of the linear rDNA which varied in size.<ref name="Valera-2010">{{Cite journal|last=Valera|first=E|date=2010|title=2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: telomeres and telomerase|journal=Oncogene|volume=29|issue=11|pages=1561–1565|doi=10.1038/onc.2010.15|pmid=20237481|s2cid=11726588}}</ref> Blackburn then noticed that this hexanucleotide at the end of the chromosome contained a TTAGGG sequence that was [[Tandem repeat|tandemly repeated]], and the terminal end of the chromosomes were palindromic. These characteristics allowed Blackburn and colleagues to conduct further research on the protozoan. Using the telomeric repeated end of ''Tetrahymena'', Blackburn and colleague Jack Szostak showed the unstable replicating plasmids of yeast were protected from degradation, proving that these sequences contained characteristics of telomeres.<ref name="Valera-2010" /> This research also proved the telomeric repeats of ''Tetrahymena'' were conserved evolutionarily between the species.<ref name="Valera-2010" /> Through this research, Blackburn and collaborators noticed the replication system for chromosomes was not likely to add to the lengthening of the telomere, and that the addition of these hexanucleotides to the chromosomes was likely due to the activity of an enzyme that is able to transfer specific functional groups.<ref name="Valera-2010" /> The proposition of a possible transferase-like enzyme led Blackburn and PhD student Carol W. Greider to the discovery of an enzyme with reverse transcriptase activity that was able to fill in the terminal ends of telomeres without leaving the chromosome incomplete and unable to divide without loss of the end of the chromosome.<ref name="Gilson-2010">{{Cite journal|date=1 April 2010|title=The telomere story or the triumph of an open-minded research |journal=Biochimie|language=en|volume=92|issue=4|pages=321–326|doi=10.1016/j.biochi.2009.12.014|pmid=20096746|issn=0300-9084|last1=Gilson|first1=Eric|last2=Ségal-Bendirdjian|first2=Evelyne}}</ref> This 1985 discovery led to the purification of this enzyme in lab, showing the transferase-like enzyme contained both RNA and protein components.<ref name="Valera-2010" /> The RNA portion of the enzyme served as a template for adding the telomeric repeats to the incomplete telomere, and the protein added enzymatic function for the addition of these repeats. Through this breakthrough, the term "telomerase" was given to the enzyme, solving the end-replication process that had troubled scientists at the time.<ref name="Gilson-2010" />

=== Telomerase ===
In 1984, Blackburn was a biological researcher and professor of biology and physiology at the [[University of California, San Francisco]], studying the [[telomere]], a structure at the end of chromosomes that protects the [[chromosome]].

[[Telomerase]] works by adding base pairs to the overhang of DNA on the 3' end, extending the strand until DNA polymerase and an RNA primer can complete the complementary strand and successfully synthesize the double-stranded DNA. Since DNA polymerase only synthesizes DNA in the leading strand direction, the shortening of the telomere results.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/elizabeth-blackburn-carol-greider-and-jack-szostaks-telomere-and-telomerase-experiments-1982|title=Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak's Telomere and Telomerase Experiments (1982–1989) {{!}} The Embryo Project Encyclopedia|website=embryo.asu.edu|access-date=13 December 2018}}</ref> Through their research, Blackburn and collaborators were able to show that the telomere is effectively replenished by the enzyme telomerase, which conserves cellular division by preventing the rapid loss of genetic information internal to the telomere, leading to cellular aging.<ref name="Valera-2010" />

On 1 January 2016, Blackburn was interviewed about her studies, discovering telomerase, and her current research. When she was asked to recall the moment of telomerase discovery she stated:<ref name="American Academy of Achievement-2009">{{cite web|url=https://www.achievement.org/achiever/elizabeth-blackburn/#interview |title=Elizabeth Blackburn Interview|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]] |date=17 November 2009}}</ref><blockquote>[[Carol Greider|Carol]] had done this experiment, and we stood, just in the lab, and I remember sort of standing there, and she had this – we call it a gel. It's an [[autoradiogram]] because there were trace amounts of radioactivity that were used to develop an image of the separated DNA products of what turned out to be the telomerase enzyme reaction. I remember looking at it and just thinking, 'Ah! This could be very big. This looks just right.' It had a pattern to it. There was a regularity to it. There was something that was not just sort of garbage there, and that was really kind of coming through, even though we look back at it now, we'd say, technically, there was this, that, and the other, but it was a pattern shining through, and it just had this sort of sense, 'Ah! There's something real here.' But then, of course, the good scientist has to be very skeptical and immediately say, 'Okay, we're going to test this every way around here, and really nail this one way or the other.' If it's going to be true, you have to make sure that it's true, because you can get a lot of false leads, especially if you're wanting something to work.<ref name="American Academy of Achievement-2009" /><br /></blockquote>In 1978, Blackburn joined the faculty of the [[University of California, Berkeley]], in the Department of Molecular Biology. In 1990, she moved across the San Francisco Bay to the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the [[University of California, San Francisco]] (UCSF), where she served as the Department Chair from 1993 to 1999 and was the Morris Herzstein Professor of Biology and Physiology at UCSF. Blackburn became a Professor Emeritus at UCSF at the end of 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://profiles.ucsf.edu/elizabeth.blackburn#toc-id2|title=UCSF Profiles: Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=2018|website=ucsf.edu|publisher=The Regents of the University of California|access-date=11 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2015/11/258461/nobel-laureate-elizabeth-blackburn-named-president-salk-institute|title=Nobel Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn Named President of Salk Institute|last=Madhusoodanan|first=Jyoti|date=18 November 2015|access-date=11 June 2018}}</ref>

Blackburn co-founded the company Telomere Health which offers telomere length testing to the public, but later severed ties with the company.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Marchant|first1=Jo|year=2011|title=Spit test offers guide to health|journal=Nature|doi=10.1038/news.2011.330|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/debunked/2016/11/22/89-test-kit-claims-determine-cells-aging-work|title=$89 test kit claims to determine how well your cells are aging. Does it work?|last=Yasmin|first=Seema |author-link1=Seema Yasmin|date=November 2016|access-date=11 June 2018}}</ref>

In 2015, Blackburn was announced as the new President of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. "Few scientists garner the kind of admiration and respect that Dr. Blackburn receives from her peers for her scientific accomplishments and her leadership, service and integrity", says Irwin M. Jacobs, chairman of Salk's Board of Trustees, on Blackburn's appointment as President of the institute. "Her deep insight as a scientist, her vision as a leader, and her warm personality will prove invaluable as she guides the Salk Institute on its continuing journey of discovery".  In 2017, she announced her plans to retire from the Salk Institute the following year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.salk.edu/news-release/nobel-laureate-elizabeth-blackburn-named-salk-institute-president/|title=Nobel laureate Elizabeth Blackburn named Salk Institute president|website=Salk Institute for Biological Studies|language=en|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref>

=== Nobel Prize ===
For their research and contributions to the understanding of telomeres and the enzyme telomerase, Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak were awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The substantial research on the effects of chromosomal protection from telomerase, and the impact this has on cellular division has been a revolutionary catalyst in the field of molecular biology.<ref name="Herbert-2011">{{Cite journal|last=Herbert|first=Brittney-Shea|date=January 2011|title=The impact of telomeres and telomerase in cellular biology and medicine: it's not the end of the story|journal=Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine|volume=15|issue=1|pages=1–2|doi=10.1111/j.1582-4934.2010.01233.x|issn=1582-1838|pmc=3822486|pmid=21261810}}</ref> For example, the addition of telomerase to cells that do not possess this enzyme has shown to bypass the limit of cellular ageing in those cells, thereby linking this enzyme to reduced cellular aging.<ref name="Herbert-2011" /> The addition of telomerase, and the presence of the enzyme in cancer cells has been shown to provide an immunity mechanism for the cell in proliferating, linking the transferase activity to increased cellular growth and reduced sensitivity for cellular signaling. Telomeres are also believed to play an important role in certain types of cancers, including pancreatic, bone, prostate, bladder, lung, kidney, and head and neck cancer.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-08-03 |title=Australia's Nobel Prize winners |url=https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2015/08/australias-nobel-prize-winners/ |access-date=2023-02-16 |website=Australian Geographic |language=en-US}}</ref> The importance of discovering this enzyme has since led her continued research at the University of California San Francisco, where she studies the effect of telomeres and telomerase activity on cellular aging.<ref name="biochemistry2.ucsf.edu">{{Cite web|url=http://biochemistry2.ucsf.edu/labs/blackburn/index.php|title=Blackburn Lab Research|website=biochemistry2.ucsf.edu|access-date=14 December 2018|archive-date=16 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216031440/http://biochemistry2.ucsf.edu/labs/blackburn/index.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Bioethics===

Blackburn was appointed a member of the [[President's Council on Bioethics]] in 2002.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020116-9.html|title=President Names Members of Bioethics Council|website=georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref> She supported human embryonic cell research, in opposition to the Bush administration. Her Council terms were terminated by [[White House]] directive on 27 February 2004.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Blackburn|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Rowley|first2=Janet|author-link2=Janet Rowley|name-list-style=amp|year=2004|title=Reason as Our Guide|journal=[[PLOS Biology]]|volume=2|issue=4|pages=e116|doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0020116|pmc=359389|pmid=15024408 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Dr. Blackburn believes that she was dismissed from the Council due to her disapproval of the Bush administration's position against stem cell research.<ref name="Union of Concerned Scientists">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ucsusa.org/center-for-science-and-democracy/scientific_integrity/abuses_of_science/a-to-z/presidents-council-on.html|title=President's Council on Bioethics|website=Union of Concerned Scientists|language=en|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref> This was followed by expressions of outrage over her removal by many scientists, 170 of whom signed an open letter to the president maintaining that she was fired because of political opposition to her advice.<ref name="The Weekend Australian">{{cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Cameron |title=Eyes on the Prize |work=[[The Weekend Australian]] |publisher=News Corp Australia |date=10 August 2019}}</ref>

Scientists and ethicists at the time even went as far as to say that Blackburn's removal was in violation of the [[Federal Advisory Committee Act]] of 1972, which "requires balance on such advisory bodies"<ref name="Union of Concerned Scientists" />

"There is a growing sense that scientific research—which, after all, is defined by the quest for truth—is being manipulated for political ends", wrote Blackburn. "There is evidence that such manipulation is being achieved through the stacking of the membership of advisory bodies and through the delay and misrepresentation of their reports."<ref>[http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/350/14/1379 Bioethics and the Political Distortion of Biomedical Science] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090622040900/http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/350/14/1379 |date=22 June 2009 }} Elizabeth Blackburn, ''[[The New England Journal of Medicine]]'' 350:1379–1380 (1 April 2004)</ref><ref>[http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/index.html A Nobel prize for a Bush critic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090512194320/http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/index.html |date=12 May 2009 }} By Andrew Leonard, Salon.com, 5 October 2009 Free text. Extensive quotation from Blackburn's article. She is an important scientist throughout the world.</ref>

Blackburn serves on the Science Advisory Board of the Regenerative Medicine Foundation formerly known as the Genetics Policy Institute.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://genpol.org/leadership-staff-board-of-directors/science-advisory-board/|title=Science Advisory Board|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=2018|website=genpol.org|publisher=Regenerative Medicine Foundation|access-date=11 June 2018|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140747/http://genpol.org/leadership-staff-board-of-directors/science-advisory-board/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Current research ===
In recent years Blackburn and her colleagues have been investigating the effect of stress on telomerase and telomeres<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Epel ES, Lin J, Dhabhar FS, Wolkowitz OM, Puterman E, Karan L, Blackburn EH|year=2010|title=Dynamics of telomerase activity in response to acute psychological stress|journal=Brain, Behavior, and Immunity|volume=24|issue=4|pages=531–539|doi=10.1016/j.bbi.2009.11.018|pmc=2856774|pmid=20018236}}</ref> with particular emphasis on [[Mindfulness (psychology)|mindfulness]] meditation.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Jacobs TL, Epel ES, Lin J, Blackburn EH, Wolkowitz OM, Bridwell DA, Zanesco AP, Aichele SR, Sahdra BK, Maclean KA, King BG, Shaver PR, Rosenberg EL, Ferrer E, Wallace BA, Saron CD|year=2010|title=Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators|journal=Psychoneuroendocrinology|volume=36|issue=5|pages=664–681|doi=10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.09.010|pmid=21035949|s2cid=4890811}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Elissa Epel|author2=Jennifer Daubenmier|author3=Judith Tedlie Moskowitz|author4=Susan Folkman|author5=Elizabeth Blackburn|year=2009|title=Can Meditation Slow Rate of Cellular Aging? Cognitive Stress, Mindfulness, and Telomeres|journal=[[Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences]]|volume=1172|issue=1|pages=34–53|doi=10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04414.x|pmc=3057175|pmid=19735238|bibcode=2009NYASA1172...34E}}</ref> She is also one of several biologists (and one of two Nobel Prize laureates) in the 1995 science documentary ''[[Death by Design/The Life and Times of Life and Times]]''. She also featured in the 2012 Emmy award-winning science documentary, 'Decoding Immortality' (also known as 'Immortal') by Genepool Productions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genepoolproductions.com/immortal/|title = Immortal}}</ref> Studies suggest that chronic psychological stress may accelerate ageing at the cellular level. Intimate partner violence was found to shorten telomere length in formerly abused women versus never abused women, possibly causing poorer overall health and greater morbidity in abused women.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Janice Humphreys|author2=Elissa S. Epel|author3=Bruce A. Cooper|author4=Jue Lin|author5=Elizabeth H. Blackburn|author6=Kathryn A. Lee|year=2012|title=Telomere Shortening in Formerly Abused and Never Abused Women|journal=[[Biological Research for Nursing]]|volume=14|issue=2|pages=115–123|doi=10.1177/1099800411398479|pmid=21385798|pmc=3207021}}</ref>

At the University of California San Francisco, Blackburn currently researches telomeres and telomerase in many organisms, from yeast to human cells.<ref name="biochemistry2.ucsf.edu" /> The lab is focused on telomere maintenance, and how this has an impact on cellular aging. Many chronic diseases have been associated with the improper maintenance of these telomeres, thereby affecting cellular division, cycling, and impaired growth. At the cutting edge of telomere research, the Blackburn lab currently investigates the impact of limited maintenance of telomeres in cells through altering the enzyme telomerase.<ref name="biochemistry2.ucsf.edu" />

== Publications ==
Blackburn's first book ''The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer''<ref name="Blackburn 2017 p.">{{cite book |last=Blackburn |first=Elizabeth |title=The telomere effect: a revolutionary approach to living younger, healthier, longer |publisher=Grand Central Publishing |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4555-8798-8 |publication-place=New York |oclc=949143786}}</ref> (2017) was co-authored with [[health psychologist]] Dr. [[Elissa S. Epel]] of Aging, Metabolism, and Emotions (AME) Center at the UCSF Center for Health and Community.<ref>{{cite book |author=Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, Dr. Elissa Epel |title=The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer |publisher=[[Grand Central Publishing]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4555-8797-1 |pages=416}}</ref> Blackburn comments on ageing reversal and care for one's telomeres through lifestyle: managing chronic stress, exercising, eating better and getting enough sleep; telomere testing, plus cautions and advice.<ref>{{cite news |author=Corbyn, Zoë |date=29 January 2017 |title=Elizabeth Blackburn on the telomere effect: 'It's about keeping healthier for longer' |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jan/29/telomere-effect-elizabeth-blackburn-nobel-prize-medicine-chromosomes |access-date=5 June 2017}}</ref> While studying telomeres and the replenishing enzyme, telomerase, Blackburn discovered a vital role played by these protective caps that revolved around one central idea: ageing of cells. The book hones in on many of the effects that poor health can have on telomeres and telomerase activity.<ref name="How maintaining your telomeres can help you age healthily">{{Cite news |title=How maintaining your telomeres can help you age healthily |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/how-maintaining-your-telomeres-can-help-you-agehealthily/article33618022/ |access-date=14 December 2018}}</ref> Since telomeres shorten with every division of a cell, replenishing these caps is essential to long term cell growth. Through research and data, Blackburn explained that people that lead stressful lives exhibit less telomerase functioning in the body, which leads to a decrease in the dividing capabilities of the cell.<ref name="How maintaining your telomeres can help you age healthily" /> Once telomeres shorten drastically, the cells can no longer divide, meaning the tissues they replenish with every division would therefore die out, highlighting the ageing mechanism in humans. To increase telomerase activity in people with stress-filled lives, Blackburn suggests moderate exercise, even 15 minutes a day, which has been proven to stimulate telomerase activity and replenish the telomere.<ref name="How maintaining your telomeres can help you age healthily" />

Blackburn states that unhappiness in lives also has an effect on the shortening of telomeres. In a study done on divorced couples, their telomere length was "significantly shorter" compared to couples in healthy relationships, and Blackburn states, "There's an obvious stressor&nbsp;... we are intensely social beings."<ref name="The Australian-2017">{{Cite web |date=5 February 2017 |title=How to beat the march of time |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/molecular-biologist-elizabeth-blackburn-reveals-telomere-effect/news-story/83a0b8c18b8476e30a421b96e52377d5 |access-date=14 December 2018 |website=[[The Australian]]}}</ref> She suggests positivity in daily life increases health. While increasing the amount of exercise, decreasing stress, and tobacco use, and maintaining a balanced sleep schedule, Blackburn explains that telomere length can be maintained, leading to a decrease in cell aging.<ref name="The Australian-2017" /> Blackburn also tells readers to be wary of clinical pills that proclaim to lengthen or telomeres and protect the body from aging. She says that these pills and creams have no scientific proof of being anti-aging supplements and that the key to preserving our telomeres and stimulating telomerase activity comes from leading a healthy life.<ref name="The Australian-2017" />

== Personal life ==
While working at the [[MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology]] in Cambridge, Blackburn met her husband John Sedat.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Landau |first=Misia |date=1 April 2009 |title=A Conversation with Elizabeth Blackburn |journal=Clinical Chemistry |language=en |volume=55 |issue=4 |pages=835–841 |doi=10.1373/clinchem.2008.119578 |issn=1530-8561 |pmid=19233908 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Sedat had taken a position at Yale, where she then decided to finish her postdoctoral.<ref name="NobelPrize.org" /><ref name="Grady-2013" /> "Thus it was that love brought me to a most fortunate and influential choice: Joe Gall’s lab at Yale." They moved to New Haven and were married soon after.<ref name="Grady-2013" />

Blackburn splits her time living between [[La Jolla]] and [[San Francisco]] with her husband, and has a son, born in 1986.<ref name="Grady-2013" /><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091211164921/http://www.ucsf.edu/nobel/2009/blackburn/ucsf-elizabeth-blackburn-nobel-prize-physiology-medicine/ UCSF's Elizabeth Blackburn Receives Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, By Jennifer O'Brien.] Press release.</ref> She serves as a mentor and advocate for scientific research and policy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.achievement.org/achiever/elizabeth-blackburn/|title=Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD|website=Academy of Achievement|language=en-US|access-date=14 December 2018}}</ref>

== Awards and honours ==
Blackburn's awards and honors include:
[[File:Elizabeth Blackburn (Nobel Medicine or Physiology 2009) in Stockholm, June 2016.jpg|thumb|Elizabeth Blackburn (Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology 2009) in Stockholm, June 2016]]
*[[Eli Lilly and Company-Elanco Research Award|Eli Lilly Research Award for Microbiology and Immunology]] (1988)
*[[United States National Academy of Sciences]] Award in Molecular Biology (1990)
*Harvey Society Lecturer at the [[Harvey Society]] in New York (1990)
*[[Honorary Doctorate]] of Science from Yale University (1991)
*Fellow of [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] (1991)<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter B|url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterB.pdf|publisher=[[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=10 April 2011}}</ref>
*Elected a [[List of Fellows of the Royal Society elected in 1992|Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1992]]<ref name=frs>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316060617/https://royalsociety.org/about-us/fellowship/fellows/|archive-date=16 March 2015|url=https://royalsociety.org/about-us/fellowship/fellows/|publisher=Royal Society|location=London|title=Fellows of the Royal Society}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://royalsociety.org/uploadedFiles/Royal_Society_Content/about-us/fellowship/Fellows1660-2007.pdf | title=List of Fellows of the Royal Society 1660–2007 | publisher=Royal Society Library & Information Services | date=July 2007 | access-date=31 July 2012}}</ref>
*Fellow of [[American Academy of Microbiology]] (1993)
*Foreign Associate of [[National Academy of Sciences]] (1993)<ref>{{cite web |author1=United States National Academy of Sciences |author1-link=National Academy of Sciences |title=Member Directory: Elizabeth Blackburn |url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/64209.html |website=www.nasonline.org}}</ref>
*[[Australia Prize]] (1998)
*[[Gairdner Foundation International Award]] (1998)
*[[Harvey Prize]] (1999)
*[[Keio Medical Science Prize]] (1999)<ref>{{cite web |author1=((Keio University Medical Science Fund)) |title=Prize Laureates: Keio Medical Science Prize|url=https://www.ms-fund.keio.ac.jp/en/prize//list.html |website=www.ms-fund.keio.ac.jp |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003141011/https://www.ms-fund.keio.ac.jp/en/prize//list.html |archive-date=3 October 2021}}</ref>
*[[Passano Award]] (1999)<ref>{{cite web |title=Recipients of the Passano Laureate and Physician Scientist Awards |url=https://www.passanofoundation.org/services |website=The Passano Foundation, Inc. |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123175030/https://www.passanofoundation.org/services |archive-date=23 January 2022}}</ref>
*California Scientist of the Year in 1999<ref>{{cite press release |author1=((University of California - San Francisco)) |title=UCSF's Elizabeth Blackburn Receives Two Major Science Awards |url=https://ekaprdweb01.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/1999-02/UoCS-UEBR-100299.php |access-date=4 March 2022 |publisher=Eureka Alert AAAS |date=10 February 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304135006/https://ekaprdweb01.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/1999-02/UoCS-UEBR-100299.php |archive-date=4 March 2022}}</ref>
*[[American Academy of Achievement]]'s Golden Plate Award (2000)<ref>{{cite web|title= Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD Biography and Interview |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url= https://www.achievement.org/achiever/elizabeth-blackburn/}}</ref>
*[[American Association for Cancer Research]] – G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award (2000)
*[[American Cancer Society]] Medal of Honor (2000)
*Fellow of [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] (2000)
*AACR-Pezcoller Foundation International Award for Cancer Research (2001)
*[[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]] Cancer Research Foundation [[Alfred P. Sloan Award]] (2001)
*[[E.B.Wilson Award]] of the [[American Society for Cell Biology]] (2001)
* [[Bristol-Myers Squibb Award]] (2003)
*[[Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Medical Research Award]] (2003)
*[[Dr A.H. Heineken Prize|Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for Medicine]] (2004)
*[[The Franklin Institute Awards|Benjamin Franklin Medal]] in Life Science of [[The Franklin Institute]] (2005)
*[[Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research]] (2006) (shared with [[Carol W. Greider]] and [[Jack Szostak]])
*Genetics Prize from the [[Peter Gruber Foundation]] (2006)
*Honorary Doctorate of Science from [[Harvard University]] (2006)<ref>{{cite web |last=Atiyah |first=Sir Michael |date=2006-05-23 |title=Nine receive honorary degrees from Harvard |url=http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/daily/2006/06/08-honorary.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061012161759/http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/daily/2006/06/08-honorary.html |archive-date=12 October 2006 |access-date=16 October 2006 |work=Harvard University Gazette}}</ref>
*[[Wiley Prize]] in Biomedical Sciences from the Wiley Foundation (shared with [[Carol W. Greider]]) (2006)
*Fellow of [[Australian Academy of Science]] (2007)
*Corresponding fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (2007)
*Recipient of the UCSF Women's Faculty Association Award
*Honorary Doctorate of Science from Princeton University (2007)
*[[Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize]] of [[Columbia University]] (2007) (shared with [[Carol W. Greider]] and [[Joseph G. Gall]])
*[[L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science|L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science]] (2008)
*[[Albany Medical Center Prize]] (2008)
*[[Pearl Meister Greengard Prize]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Pearl Meister Greengard Prize – An International Award Recognizing Outstanding Women in Biomedical Research|publisher=The Rockefeller University|url=http://greengardprize.rockefeller.edu/recipients|access-date=8 August 2016|archive-date=12 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812094652/https://greengardprize.rockefeller.edu/recipients|url-status=dead}}</ref> (2008)
*[[Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women]] (2008)
*[[Victorian Honour Roll of Women]] (2010)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-25 |title=Prof Elizabeth Blackburn AC |url=https://www.vic.gov.au/prof-elizabeth-blackburn-ac |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=State Government of Victoria |language=en-au}}</ref>
* Mike Hogg Award (2009)
*[[Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize]] (2009) (shared with [[Carol W. Greider]])<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.dnalc.org/dnaftb/2009/10/05/blackburn-greider-and-szostak-share-nobel-for-telomeres/ |title=Blackburn, Greider, and Szostak share Nobel |publisher=[[Dolan DNA Learning Center]] |access-date=5 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022193507/http://blogs.dnalc.org/dnaftb/2009/10/05/blackburn-greider-and-szostak-share-nobel-for-telomeres/ |archive-date=22 October 2009}}</ref>
*[[List of Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine|The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009]], shared with [[Carol W. Greider]] and [[Jack W. Szostak]] "for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2009/|title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009|publisher=The Nobel Foundation|date=5 October 2009|access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref> 
*Companion of the [[Order of Australia]] ([[Australia Day]] Honours, 2010), for "eminent service to science as a leader in the field of biomedical research, particularly through the discovery of telomerase and its role in the development of cancer and ageing of cells and through contributions as an international adviser in Bioethics."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1141681 |title=It's an Honour |publisher=Itsanhonour.gov.au |date=26 January 2010 |access-date=28 September 2011}}</ref>
*Fellow of the [[Royal Society of New South Wales]] (FRSN) (2010)<ref>{{cite web|title=Fellows of RSNSW|url=http://royalsoc.org.au/society/fellows.htm|publisher=RSNSW|access-date=25 June 2012|archive-date=20 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320074313/http://royalsoc.org.au/society/fellows.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[California Hall of Fame]] (2011)
*[[American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal|AIC Gold Medal]] (2012)<ref name=Blackburn>{{cite web|title=American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal|url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/american-institute-of-chemists-gold-medal|publisher=[[Science History Institute]]|date=22 March 2018}}</ref> 
*The [[Royal Medal]] of the [[Royal Society]] (2015).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://royalsociety.org/awards/royal-medal/|title=Royal Medal|publisher=[[Royal Society]]|access-date=20 July 2015}}</ref>
* Honorary Fellow at [[Jesus College, Oxford]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/about-jesus-college/our-community/people/professor-elizabeth-helen-blackburn/ |title=Professor Elizabeth Helen Blackburn - Jesus College |access-date=January 14, 2024}}</ref>

Blackburn was elected:
*President of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies (2016–2017)<ref name="Nobel laureate Elizabeth Blackburn named Salk Institute President">{{cite web|url=http://www.salk.edu/news-release/nobel-laureate-elizabeth-blackburn-named-salk-institute-president/|title=Nobel laureate Elizabeth Blackburn named Salk Institute President|access-date=24 January 2016}}</ref>
*President of the [[American Association for Cancer Research]] for 2010<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aacr.org/home/about-us/governance/officers.aspx |title=Officers of the AACR |publisher=Aacr.org |access-date=28 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930032809/http://www.aacr.org/home/about-us/governance/officers.aspx |archive-date=30 September 2011}}</ref>
*President of the [[American Society for Cell Biology]] for 1998
*Foreign associate of the [[National Academy of Sciences]] (1993)
*Member of the [[Institute of Medicine]] (2000)
*Board member of the [[Genetics Society of America]] (2000–2002)
*Member of the [[American Philosophical Society]] (2006)<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Elizabeth+H.+Blackburn&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-05-25|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>

In 2007, Blackburn was listed among ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine's [[Time 100|100 people who shape our world]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Alice Park |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |title=The Time 100: Elizabeth Blackburn |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1595329_1616029,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070505050757/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1595329_1616029,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 May 2007 |access-date=30 May 2008 | date=3 May 2007}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|35em}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Elizabeth Blackburn}}
{{Scholia}}
* {{Nobelprize}}
* [https://www.ibiology.org/genetics-and-gene-regulation/telomerase/ Video Lecture on Telomeres and Telomerase]

{{Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Laureates 2001-2025}}
{{2009 Nobel Prize Winners}}
{{Heineken Prizes}}
{{FRS 1992}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackburn, Elizabeth}}
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of Darwin College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:American Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:Australia Prize recipients]]
[[Category:Australian Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of Australia]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science]]
[[Category:Female fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of New South Wales]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine]]
[[Category:Women Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:Australian women biologists]]
[[Category:People educated at University High School, Melbourne]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research]]
[[Category:University of California, San Francisco faculty]]
[[Category:University of Melbourne alumni]]
[[Category:Winners of the Heineken Prize]]
[[Category:L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science laureates]]
[[Category:Members of the National Academy of Medicine]]
[[Category:20th-century American biologists]]
[[Category:20th-century American women scientists]]
[[Category:21st-century American women scientists]]
[[Category:21st-century American biologists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:Salk Institute for Biological Studies people]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology]]
[[Category:Longevity researchers]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]
[[Category:Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:People from Launceston, Tasmania]]
[[Category:Scientists from Hobart]]
[[Category:Benjamin Franklin Medal (Franklin Institute) laureates]]