Congratulating Dr. Victor Ambros

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor my constituent, Dr. Victor Ambros of the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, on being awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on microRNA.

He shares this tremendous distinction with Gary Ruvkun of Harvard Medical School. I am proud to be from Massachusetts today.

Mr. Speaker, decades ago, scientists discovered that our genes, the tiny strands of DNA that make us who we are, are translated into another compound called RNA, which helps make sure our cells function.

Thanks to the laureates' work, we now know that tiny pieces of RNA called microRNA can actually do things all by themselves, speeding up or slowing down important cellular functions.

Their work has opened up unprecedented new research opportunities when it comes to all kinds of things, including cancer treatment. Thanks to this work, we have learned more about how we become who we are.

I speak for Worcester, for Massachusetts, for the United States, and the world when I say thank you to Dr. Ambros for his contributions to our understanding of how we become who we are.

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