Elwood Vernon Jensen (January 13, 1920 – December 16, 2012) was the Distinguished University Professor, George and Elizabeth Wile Chair in Cancer Research at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

College of Medicine's Vontz Center for Molecular Studies. In 2004 he received the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research for his research on

estrogen receptor Estrogen receptors (ERs) are a group of proteins found inside cells. They are receptors that are activated by the hormone estrogen (17β-estradiol). Two classes of ER exist: nuclear estrogen receptors ( ERα and ERβ), which are members of the ...

s. He is considered the father of the field of hormone action.

Life

Jensen was born in Fargo, North Dakota, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from

Wittenberg University Wittenberg University is a private liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio. It has 1,326 full-time students representing 33 states and 9 foreign countries. Wittenberg University is associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ...

in 1940 and PhD in

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, ...

from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

in 1944. From 1947 Jensen studied steroid

hormone A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones are require ...

s at Chicago, where he isolated estrogen receptors and discovered their importance in

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

. Jensen worked closely with Nobel laureate Charles Huggins; he joined the research team at the Ben May Laboratory for Cancer (now the Ben May Department of Cancer Research) in 1951 and became director after Huggins retired. Jensen first described the estrogen receptor in 1958 and subsequently discovered the superfamily of nuclear hormone receptors along with a unifying mechanism that regulates embryonic development and diverse metabolic pathways. He began work at the University of Cincinnati in 2002, and continued there until 2011. He died aged 92 of pneumonia at

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

in 2012.

Awards

* 1963, Honorary

DSc DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

Wittenberg College Wittenberg University is a private liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio. It has 1,326 full-time students representing 33 states and 9 foreign countries. Wittenberg University is associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Americ ...

* 1974, member of the National Academy of Sciences * 1980, Golden Plate Award,

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

* 2002, Brinker International Award * 2004, Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research * 2005, Honorary MD,

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

References

External links

Announcement that Jensen has received Lasker Award

An Annual Reviews Conversations Interview with Elwood V. Jensen
''Annual Review of Physiology'' (2011)
Youtube video of the interview with The Annual Review of Physiology, 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Elwood 1920 births 2012 deaths American molecular biologists People from Springfield, Ohio Wittenberg University alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Deaths from pneumonia in Ohio University of Cincinnati faculty University of Chicago alumni Recipients of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research American biologists