Two former members of the UC Berkeley community received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in groundbreaking research into the role of human chromosomes in the development of cancer and age-related illnesses.

UC San Francisco professor Elizabeth Blackburn, a former UC Berkeley professor of molecular and cell biology, shared the award with Carol Greider, who completed her doctoral studies under Blackburn at UC Berkeley in 1987. They also share the prize with their colleague, Harvard Medical School professor Jack Szostak.

The three collaborated on research that led to a 1985 discovery of the human enzyme telomerase, which is responsible for producing telomeres, the short repeating segments of DNA at the ends of chromosomes.

Telomeres are responsible for maintaining chromosomal stability and are essential in regulating cell division, ultimately determining cell life spans.

The trio's research stemmed from Blackburn's work with telomeres as a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University in the late 1970s. While there, she assisted in the discovery that the size of telomeres corresponded with the length of cell life spans.

After joining the UC Berkeley faculty later that year, Blackburn teamed up with Szostak to further explore the role of telomeres in human DNA.

Greider joined the effort in 1985 as a graduate student working under Blackburn. Soon afterward, Greider recognized a breakthrough now credited with winning the Nobel Prize for the group.

"I was on (Greider's) prelim committee, and I remember when she came in with evidence of the telomerase enzyme, and I remember my jaw dropped," said Michael Botchan, UC Berkeley professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in a campus statement announcing the prize. "It was a wonderful experience because you don't often get to examine a student on work you know is paradigm-shifting."

The discovery of the enzyme generated inquiry as to whether telomerases can help rebuild the ends of chromosomes and aid efforts to prevent age-related diseases.

Research following the discovery has also sought to understand the possibility of the enzyme as a means to prevent the growth and division of cancerous cells, the statement said.

UC Berkeley faculty members acknowledged the weight of the group's work yesterday, saying that the groundbreaking research made a significant impact on researchers' understanding of the role of DNA in common diseases.

"It's a wonderful day for the UC system, and the people of California should pay attention to this because (Blackburn) did the fundamental aspects of this work at Berkeley," said Jeremy Thorner, UC Berkeley professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. "The state, the citizens and the UC system at large are the big winners here, because (Blackburn) was a faculty member on two UC campuses."