A conversation with Robert Lefkowitz, Joseph Goldstein, and Michael Brown

摘要

Today we shift the format of our Conversations with Giants in Medicine and allow three of our most charismatic giants (Robert Lefkowitz, Joseph Goldstein, and Michael Brown) to interview each other (Figure (Figure1).1). Lefkowitz (Duke University) is known for his seminal discoveries in understanding G proteincoupled receptor function. The legendary partnership between Brown and Goldstein (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center) has spanned four decades. Together they were awarded the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine acknowledging their discovery of the LDL cholesterol receptor and its role in the regulation of cholesterol metabolism. The full interview can be seen on the JCI website, http.//www.jci.org/kiosk/cgm.Lefkowitz. Im delighted to be here, particularly with two very close friends and colleagues who have always been scientific heroes of mine. I want to speak a little about our upbringing, since it is a little different for all of us. I grew up in the Bronx and first developed an interest in becoming a physician when I was in the third grade, inspired by my family physician, who just captivated me. How did you both get started?.