Alfred G. Knudson

Alfred George Knudson Jr. PhD (born in Los Angeles, 1922) is a geneticist specialised in the genetics of cancer. Probably the most important one of his many contributions to the field was the formulation of the Knudson hypothesis in 1971, which explains the effects of mutation on carcinogenesis (the development of cancer).

Knudson attended the California Institute of Technology, where he obtained a BSc in biochemistry and genetics in 1956. He went on to Columbia University medical school in New York City, after which he proceeded in pediatric oncology, mainly in Houston, Texas, where he formulated his hypothesis. He has been affiliated with the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia since 1976.

He received numerous prizes and honorary doctorates for his work, most prominently the 1998 Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research. He also received the 1999 American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) Distinguished Career Award and the 2005 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research.

Alfred G. Knudson