Nobel Prize "for the discovery of the cellular origin of the retroviral oncogenes, a discovery that revolutionized the cancer research".
Before the work of Varmus, the belief was that the carcinogenic genes, the oncogenes, were always of viral origin, and that the viruses were the ones transmitting them to the healthy cells. He discovered that the normal cells of the organism have genes that can cause cancer, when these cells stop working properly.
He proved that what the viruses really do is to affect those genes, genes apparently normal which under certain circumstances can become malignant.
To his condition of scientific leader in such a strategic field, is added the one of important person in scientific politics: the president Bill Clinton appointed him Director of the NIH (National Institute of Health of EE.UU.), position he had during his two presidential terms of office. The NIH is the agency of the EE.UU's government responsible for the biomedical and health sciences research.
Moreover, he is President of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of New York, the oldest and biggest private institution in the world devoted to the research and treatment of cancer. This Centre includes a hospital specialized in cancer, which received during 2007 more than 21.000 patients, and one of the most prestigious research institutes in the world, which has a staff of more than 9.000 people, including world-wide known figures of cancer research, such as the Spanish scienti and Prize Principe de Asturias 2004, Joan Massague.
