ANOTHER RECENT MARCH OF DIMES GRANTEE WINS A 2006 NOBEL PRIZE

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., OCTOBER 4, 2006 – The March of Dimes congratulates Roger D. Kornberg, PhD, professor of structural biology and medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and a former March of Dimes grantee, on winning this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The Nobel Committee announced today that Dr. Kornberg has been honored for his for his studies of transcription, the process in which a cell's genes, comprising DNA sequences, issue gene messengers in the form of RNA. The March of Dimes supported Dr. Kornberg's work on one aspect of transcription from 1996 through 1998.

In the past three decades Dr. Kornberg has revealed molecular mechanisms that regulate and carry out transcription. Disturbances of transcription can lead to birth defects, cancers, metabolic diseases and other disorders.

“Dr. Kornberg's contributions to understanding how transcription works continue to provide important insights into the origin of a variety of birth defects,” said Michael Katz, M.D., senior vice president for research and global programs at the March of Dimes.

The March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.  For more information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org for Spanish.