Louis Martens Kunkel (born October 13, 1949) is an American

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...

and member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

(NAS). His father ( Henry G. Kunkel) and grandfather ( Louis O. Kunkel) were also scientists and NAS members. Kunkel came from a Lutheran background and attended Lutheran schools in youth. He later graduated from

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. ...

in 1971. He obtained his PhD from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

. He is noted for discovering

dystrophin Dystrophin is a rod-shaped cytoplasmic protein, and a vital part of a protein complex that connects the cytoskeleton of a muscle fiber to the surrounding extracellular matrix through the cell membrane. This complex is variously known as the costa ...

, which is relevant to

muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...

research.

Awards

* 1988

GlaxoSmithKline Prize The GlaxoSmithKline Prize and Lecture is awarded by the Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of scienc ...

* 1989

Gairdner Foundation International Award The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a p ...

* 1991 E. Mead Johnson Award * 2004

William Allan Award The William Allan Award, given by the American Society of Human Genetics, was established in 1961 in memory of William Allan (1881–1943), one of the first American physicians to conduct extensive research in human genetics. The William Allan ...

* 2009

March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology The March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology is awarded once a year by the March of Dimes. It carries a $250,000 award "to an investigator whose research brings us closer to the day when all babies will be born healthy." It also includes a ...

MARCH OF DIMES PRIZE IN DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY RECIPIENT LIST (pdf)
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References

External links

HMS Department of Genetics page
American geneticists Gettysburg College alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Johns Hopkins University alumni 1949 births Living people {{US-biologist-stub