World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
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Molecular Biology
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Molecular Biology

D-Index
140
Citations
66275
World Ranking
129
National Ranking
85

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Molecular Biology in United States Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Molecular Biology in United States Leader Award
  • 2018 - Fellow, National Academy of Inventors
  • 2003 - US President's National Medal of Science "For his discovery that the genes that determine the cancer-causing potential of certain viruses are counterparts of and derived from essential cellular genes, and that derangement of these cellular genes can lead to growth aberrations and cancer.", Presented by President George W. Bush in a White House East Room ceremony on March 14, 2005.
  • 2002 - Member of Academia Europaea
  • 1998 - ASCB Public Service Award, The American Society for Cell Biology
  • 1991 - Member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM)
  • 1989 - Nobel Prize for their discovery of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes
  • 1987 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • 1984 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • 1982 - Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, Lasker Foundation
  • 1980 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences

Overview

J. Michael Bishop is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco in the United States. Their career is distinguished by numerous recognitions, reflecting contributions to biomedical science and oncology.

The scientist received the Nobel Prize in 1989 for the discovery of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes. This work established a fundamental understanding of how certain viruses can cause cancer by interacting with essential cellular genes, a transformative concept in cancer biology.

Bishop's honors include membership in several prestigious academies. They became a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1980, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1984, the American Association for the Advancement of Science as a fellow in 1987, and the National Academy of Medicine in 1991. Furthermore, Bishop was elected to the Academia Europaea in 2002 and named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2018.

Award recognitions also include the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 1982 and the ASCB Public Service Award from The American Society for Cell Biology in 1998. In 2003, Bishop was awarded the US President's National Medal of Science, cited for their discovery of the genetic basis for cancer caused by viruses and how irregularities in these genes contribute to abnormal cellular growth. The medal was presented by President George W. Bush at a White House ceremony in 2005.

Their work has influenced multiple areas within biomedical research, particularly in cancer biology. Though specific papers, co-authors, publication venues, and topical fields of studies are not listed, the scientist's recognized achievements position them at the interface of virology, genetics, and oncology.

Best Publications

  • Molecular themes in oncogenesis

    J.Michael Bishop

  • Amplified DNA with limited homology to myc cellular oncogene is shared by human neuroblastoma cell lines and a neuroblastoma tumour.

    Manfred Schwab;Kari Alitalo;Karl Heinz Klempnauer;Harold E. Varmus

  • DNA related to the transforming gene(s) of avian sarcoma viruses is present in normal avian DNA

    D. Stehelin;H. E. Varmus;J. M. Bishop;P. K. Vogt

  • Reversible Tumorigenesis by MYC in Hematopoietic Lineages

    Dean W. Felsher;J.Michael Bishop

  • MYC inactivation uncovers pluripotent differentiation and tumour dormancy in hepatocellular cancer

    Catherine M. Shachaf;Andrew M. Kopelman;Constadina Arvanitis;Åsa Karlsson

  • Homogeneously staining chromosomal regions contain amplified copies of an abundantly expressed cellular oncogene (c-myc) in malignant neuroendocrine cells from a human colon carcinoma.

    K. Alitalo;Manfred Schwab;C. C. Lin;H. E. Varmus

  • Senescence of human fibroblasts induced by oncogenic Raf

    Jiyue Zhu;Douglas Woods;Martin McMahon;J. Michael Bishop

  • Targeted expression of MYCN causes neuroblastoma in transgenic mice.

    William A. Weiss;Kenneth D Aldape;Gayatry Mohapatra;Burt G. Feuerstein

  • Evidence that the transforming gene of avian sarcoma virus encodes a protein kinase associated with a phosphoprotein.

    Arthur D. Levinson;Hermann Oppermann;Leon Levintow;Harold E. Varmus

  • Multiple arrangements of viral DNA and an activated host oncogene in bursal lymphomas

    Gregory S. Payne;J. Michael Bishop;Harold E. Varmus

  • The MYC protein activates transcription of the alpha-prothymosin gene.

    M. Eilers;S. Schirm;J. M. Bishop

  • The Metabolic Profile of Tumors Depends on Both the Responsible Genetic Lesion and Tissue Type

    Mariia O. Yuneva;Teresa W.M. Fan;Thaddeus D. Allen;Richard M. Higashi

  • Chimaeras of Myc oncoprotein and steroid receptors cause hormone-dependent transformation of cells

    M Eilers;D Picard;K R Yamamoto;J M Bishop

  • A cellular oncogene (c-Ki- ras ) is amplified, overexpressed, and located within karyotypic abnormalities in mouse adrenocortical tumour cells

    Manfred Schwab;Kari Alitalo;Harold E. Varmus;J. Michael Bishop

  • Definition of regions in human c-myc that are involved in transformation and nuclear localization

    J Stone;T de Lange;G Ramsay;E Jakobovits

  • Correct integration of retroviral DNA in vitro

    Patrick O. Brown;Bruce Bowerman;Harold E. Varmus;J.Michael Bishop

  • A PMLRARα transgene initiates murine acute promyelocytic leukemia

    Diane Brown;Scott Kogan;Eric Lagasse;Irving Weissman

  • A nucleoprotein complex mediates the integration of retroviral DNA.

    B Bowerman;P O Brown;J M Bishop;H E Varmus

  • Retroviral integration: structure of the initial covalent product and its precursor, and a role for the viral IN protein.

    P O Brown;B Bowerman;H E Varmus;J M Bishop

  • Cre-mediated gene inactivation demonstrates that FGF8 is required for cell survival and patterning of the first branchial arch

    Andreas Trumpp;Michael J. Depew;John L.R. Rubenstein;J. Michael Bishop

Frequent Co-Authors

Harold E. Varmus
Harold E. Varmus Cornell University
Hsing Jien Kung
Hsing Jien Kung Taipei Medical University
Kari Alitalo
Kari Alitalo University of Helsinki
Andreas Trumpp
Andreas Trumpp German Cancer Research Center
Deborah H. Spector
Deborah H. Spector University of California, San Diego
Peter K. Vogt
Peter K. Vogt Scripps Research Institute
Alana L. Welm
Alana L. Welm University of Utah
Scott C. Kogan
Scott C. Kogan University of California, San Francisco
Manfred Schwab
Manfred Schwab German Cancer Research Center
Susan R. Weiss
Susan R. Weiss University of Pennsylvania

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Best Scientists Citing J. Michael Bishop