Sir Paul Maxime Nurse was born on January 25, 1949. He is an English scientist who studies genes. He currently serves as President of the Royal Society and previously worked as the leader of the Francis Crick Institute. In 2001, he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with Leland Hartwell and Tim Hunt. They were honored for discovering proteins that help control how cells divide during the cell cycle.

Early life and education

Nurse’s mother moved from London to Norwich and lived with family while waiting for Paul’s birth (when he was 18 years old) to hide that his parents were not married. For the rest of their lives, his maternal grandmother claimed to be his mother, and his mother claimed to be his sister.

Paul was raised by his grandparents (whom he believed were his parents) in North West London. He attended Lyon Park School in Alperton and Harrow County Grammar School. He earned a BSc degree in Biology in 1970 from the University of Birmingham and a PhD degree in 1973 from the University of East Anglia for research on Candida utilis. He later completed additional research work at the University of Bern, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Sussex.

Nurse did not learn that his “sister” was actually his mother until he was in his 50s. His “parents” had both passed away, and his “sister” Miriam, who was 18 years older than him, had died earlier from multiple sclerosis. When he applied for a green card for U.S. residency while serving as president of Rockefeller University, his application was unexpectedly rejected, even though he was a Nobel Prize winner, a university president, and a knight. This was because he had submitted a short-form UK birth certificate that did not include his parents’ names. When he requested a full birth certificate, he discovered the truth, which surprised him. In 2023, Professor Turi King helped trace his father.

Career and research

After completing his PhD, Nurse worked on research projects at the laboratory of Murdoch Mitchison at the University of Edinburgh for six years (1973–1979).

In 1976, Nurse discovered the gene cdc2 in fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe). This gene helps control the cell's growth and division stages, specifically the transition from G1 to S, when the cell prepares to copy its DNA, and from G2 to M, when the cell splits into two. In 1987, Nurse found the similar gene in humans, called Cdk1, which produces a protein called cyclin-dependent kinase.

Working with fission yeast, Nurse identified the gene cdc2, which manages the movement of the cell cycle from G1 to S and from G2 to M. Along with his research assistant, Melanie Lee, Nurse also discovered the human version of this gene, CDK1. These genes control cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) by adding or removing phosphate groups.

In 1984, Nurse joined the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF, now Cancer Research UK). He left in 1988 to lead the microbiology department at the University of Oxford. He returned to the ICRF in 1993 as Director of Research and became Director General in 1996. The ICRF changed its name to Cancer Research UK in 2002. In 2003, Nurse became president of Rockefeller University in New York City, where he continued studying the cell cycle in fission yeast. In 2011, he became the first Director and Chief Executive of the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation, now known as the Francis Crick Institute.

On November 30, 2010, Nurse took over as President of the Royal Society from astrophysicist Martin Rees for a five-year term that ended in 2015.

Nurse stated that good scientists must have a strong desire to answer questions they find interesting, along with strong technical skills and attitudes such as honesty, self-criticism, open-mindedness, and skepticism.

Awards and honours

Paul Nurse has received many awards and honors in addition to the Nobel Prize. In 1987, he was elected an EMBO Member. In 1989, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). In 1998, he was a Founder Member of the Academy of Medical Sciences. In 1995, he received the Pezcoller-AACR International Award. He was also given a Royal Medal and became a foreign associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. In 1998, he received the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research. In 1999, he was knighted. In 2002, he was awarded the French Legion d'Honneur and the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. In 2005, he received the Copley Medal. In April 2006, he was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the highest honors. He is a member of the Advisory Council for the Campaign for Science and Engineering. In 2007, he received the Hope Funds Award of Excellence in Basic Research. He is a Freeman of the London Borough of Harrow. In 2013, he was awarded the Albert Einstein World Award of Science by the World Cultural Council. In 2015, he became a foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and won the 10th annual Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research in Ottawa, Canada. In 2022, he was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) for services to science and medicine in the UK and abroad. In November 2022, he was appointed to the Order of Merit.

Paul Nurse has received over 60 honorary degrees and fellowships. These include degrees from the University of Bath (2002), the University of Oxford (2003), the University of Cambridge (2003), the University of Kent (2012), the University of Warwick (Doctor of Science), the University of Worcester (Doctor of Science) (2013), City, University of London (Doctor of Science) (2014), McGill University (Doctor of Science) (2017), and the University of Hong Kong (Doctor of Science) (2021). In 2020, he received an honorary degree from Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic.

In 2012, he was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (HonFREng). In 2013, he became an Honorary Fellow of the British Association (HonFBA). In July 2016, it was announced that he would become the next Chancellor of the University of Bristol. He is an Honorary Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers. On 23 November 2024, he was elected the 169th President of The Birmingham & Midland Institute by its members. In 2023, he received the Dalton Medal of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society.

Personal life

Nurse married Anne Teresa (née Talbott) in 1971. They have two daughters: Sarah, who works for ITV, and Emily, a physicist who works at University College London and CERN. He describes himself as a sceptical agnostic, meaning he does not believe in any religion but is open to questioning ideas.

Nurse has been a member of the Labour Party for nearly 40 years. He is a patron of Scientists for Labour, a group that supports socialist ideas and is connected to the Labour Party. In September 2020, he helped write a letter published in Nature with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The letter emphasized the importance of European Union funding in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

As an undergraduate student at the University of Birmingham, Nurse sold a newspaper called Socialist Worker and took part in an event where students occupied the office of the university’s vice-chancellor. While studying at the University of East Anglia, he continued to sell Socialist Worker and supported the ideas of the International Socialist Tendency, though he never officially joined the movement.

Nurse has criticized potential Republican Party candidates for the U.S. presidency for opposing the teaching of natural selection, stem cell research using human embryos, and the idea that humans cause climate change. He believes scientists should speak out more clearly about these issues, even though he thinks some scientists have not done enough. He was surprised that this could happen in the United States, a country known for its scientific achievements, such as those of Benjamin Franklin, Richard Feynman, and Jim Watson.

Nurse said one problem is treating scientific discussions like political debates, using persuasive language instead of logical reasoning. Another issue is how science is taught in schools, which often fails to teach students how to discuss scientific topics, especially in religious schools in the United Kingdom. He wrote that science education should focus on how the scientific process reliably creates knowledge by respecting evidence, scepticism, and consistent methods. He also believes that scientific leaders have a duty to challenge false or misleading claims and to question politicians during elections.

In August 2014, Nurse signed a letter with 200 other public figures, published in The Guardian, expressing hope that Scotland would choose to remain part of the United Kingdom during a referendum on the issue.

Nurse believes scientists should share their knowledge about science in public discussions and challenge politicians who support policies based on false or unscientific ideas.

As President of the Royal Society, Nurse defended Elon Musk’s membership in that organization.

Books

• What Is Life?: Learn about biology in five steps (2020), David Fickling Books
• What Is Life?: Five important ideas in biology (2021), W. W. Norton & Company