Mary-Claire King on 20 years of Nobel near-misses — SkimNews
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- Mary-Claire King identified BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in 1994-1995 while at UC Berkeley, proving breast and ovarian cancer could be hereditary — enabling preventive mastectomies and ovary removals that the source says have reduced cancer mortality for thousands of women.
- About 20 years ago, King was invited to give a seminar at the Karolinska Institutet, which she later realized was the Nobel Committee's way of vetting candidates; the discussions ranged from a researcher who 'totally understood the work' to one who was openly skeptical.
- Now 80 and at the University of Washington, King told STAT she doesn't set an alarm for the 2 a.m. Pacific Nobel announcement because 'the chances of any one year are extremely low,' and described the process as having 'a lot of stochastic features.'
- King predicted GLP-1 drugs could win this year's Nobel, calling Katalin Karikó's 2023 win with Drew Weissman for mRNA Covid vaccine work 'the most predictable' in memory because 'she saved the planet.'
- King's current lab at the University of Washington is working on de novo mutations in schizophrenia, expanding repeats in bipolar disorder, cryptic mutations, and inherited predisposition to breast and other cancers.
- King named the overlap of early-career years with childbearing years as the main remaining barrier for women in science, stating that until society provides 'structured high-quality subsidized childcare, it's not gonna be equal.'
Why it matters: King's BRCA discoveries enabled preventive surgeries that the source says have reduced cancer mortality for thousands of women, yet she describes the Nobel as filtered by 'a lot of stochastic features.' With GLP-1 as her pick for this year's prize, the committee's two-decade deliberation on her work — and the thousands of women connected to her through what she calls a 'secret handshake' — continues without resolution.
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