Michael Grunstein, a distinguished professor emeritus of biological chemistry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been awarded the 2022 Albany Prize for his groundbreaking research on gene expression. He shares the award with C. David Allis of Rockefeller University in New York.

Working with his team at UCLA, Grunstein provided the first demonstration that histones — the proteins that package DNA within chromosomes — play an important role in gene expression and are not simply structures that serve as spools for DNA. In 2018, Grunstin and Allis received the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for their work.

Gene expression is often described as the on-off switch for genes, determining how the information encoded in a gene is converted into proteins and other molecules that are key to the development of every process in the body. Grunstein’s work provided a greater understanding of histones’ role in this process, which led to deeper insights into both normal and abnormal development, and opened new avenues for research and treatment.