“Cell division is fundamental to the growth of every living thing and when it goes wrong and is out of control this is the basis for all cancers and understanding this process is important,” explained Sir Paul Nurse. When it comes to understanding the fundamentals of cell division and the cancer connection, Sir Paul is a world-renowned expert and pioneer. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2001. In this podcast, he explained the ideas that sparked his ground-breaking research and how his findings gave scientists around the world the insight and tools they needed to develop advanced cancer therapeutics such as immunotherapy. Sir Paul is adept at explaining his work and the complexities of science in easy-to-understand language, combined with his keen intellect, modesty and a warm sense of humor. He’s someone you will enjoy spending time with. As a young scientist, Sir Paul said he knew there would be a lot of ups and downs, and he was determined “to study something important and what is more fundamental than the process that is the basis of all growth … I didn’t do this to cure cancer, but to understand the principles behind dividing cells and I thought by understanding this it would have implications for cancer and other diseases.”

Sir Paul, director and chief executive of the Francis Crick Institute in London, was recently in Columbus as the recipient of the 26th Annual Herbert and Maxime Block Memorial Lectureship Award for Distinguished Achievement in Cancer. In addition to delivering a lecture, the Block Lectureship includes a mentor/mentee collaboration between Sir Paul and Li-Chun Tu, PhD, an Ohio State and OSUCCC-James assistant professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry and Pharmacology. Dr. Tu joined the second half of this podcast, and described her work in genetics. Sir Paul and Dr. Tu look forward to working together. “I truly believe he will give me such good advice,” Dr. Tu said.