Andrew Feinberg wins prestigious Harvey Prize
Andrew Feinberg, the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Epigenetics at Johns Hopkins University, has been awarded the 2022–23 Harvey Prize in the field of Science and Technology by the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology.
Feinberg, who is the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Epigenetics in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences and director of the Division of Molecular Medicine in the Department of Medicine, will share the award with Stephen Baylin, Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor for Cancer Research Professor of Oncology and Medicine, and Van Andel Institute scientist Peter Jones.
The team was honored for their pioneering research in epigenetics—chemical alterations to DNA that can silence or activate genes without mutating the DNA.
The Harvey Prize is given without regard to nationality, race, religion ,or sex, and consists of a cash award of $75,000. Twenty-four Harvey Prize winners have gone on to win the Nobel Prize.
The prize, established in 1972, honors the late Leo M. Harvey, a pioneer industrialist. Harvey was the son of the owner of a small Lithuanian factory, and in 1905, he fled political persecution in Czarist Russia. Two years later, he emigrated to the U.S., and in 1914, started the Harvey Aluminum Co. He invented and held many patents in specialized machinery and equipment. Harvey was devoted to human progress and the establishment of goodwill between Israel and other nations.
Baylin, Feinberg, and Jones all helped pioneer the field of epigenetics, which gained widespread acceptance in the early 2000s, largely due to their research. The contributions of Feinberg and Baylin helped make Johns Hopkins Medicine a hub for epigenetic discovery and clinical translation.
In 1983, Feinberg hypothesized that epigenetic changes drive abnormal differentiation in cancer. He discovered that altered DNA methylation patterns were routinely found in human cancers. Feinberg also showed that these epigenetic changes occurred at the early stages of tumorigenesis and in the normal tissues of patients with predispositions to cancer. He also showed that congenital epigenetic changes are causally associated with childhood cancer, leading to the first epigenetic test for cancer risk, and that cancer metastasis is driven epigenetically without additional mutations.
Baylin’s research helped inform key areas of cancer biology, and particularly the abnormal epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes in cancer by a process known as hypermethylation. He and Jones showed that blocking hypermethylation can reverse the silencing of these tumor suppressor genes and led to the use of FDA-approved drugs to treat hematologic cancers. This kind of epigenetic therapy also shows promise for the treatment of other major forms of cancer. In addition, Baylin found that reactivating tumor suppressor genes with drugs that reverse hypermethylation also reignites silenced copies of viruses in human DNA and induces viral mimicry. This process can attract immune cells to tumors, activate immune signaling, and potentially improve responses to immune therapy.
“It is exciting to be on the front lines of advances in epigenetics, and I am profoundly grateful, first, to the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology for considering me worthy of the prestigious Harvey Award, and second, to so many colleagues, students, postdoctoral trainees, and mentored young faculty members who I have been fortunate to work with over so many years,” Baylin said. “None of my contributions would be possible without them. Thirdly, I am grateful for my many collaborations and interactions with co-recipient Peter Jones and his many contributions. It is an honor to be included for this award with him and my other esteemed Johns Hopkins colleague, Dr. Feinberg. Each of us has worked so diligently to move this research forward, and we are dedicated to continuing to dig deeper and advance the understanding still further.”
Feinberg, a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins, with appointments in biomedical engineering, medicine, oncology, molecular biology & genetics, mental health, and biostatistics, said he feels equally honored to share the award with Baylin.
“It’s so exciting to be recognized for this work, especially with Steve and Peter, as we all worked in the wilderness for years before other scientists believed us that DNA methylation was as important as mutation in cancer,” he said. “I am humbled by the recognition of the Technion and the committee for this honor, and I have been blessed with students, mentors, and fellows who have taught me at least as much as I have taught them. It is a privilege to be able to work with them and my colleagues to do everything we can to thwart the ravages of cancer.”
In 2001, cancer genetics pioneer Bert Vogelstein, professor of oncology and co-director of the Ludwig Center at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, was the first Johns Hopkins scientist to win the Harvey Prize. In 2006, Charles Bennett, Johns Hopkins astrophysicist and leader in measurements of the cosmic microwave background, received the prize.
Feinberg will receive his award and deliver a guest lecture at the Technion Institute in Haifa, Israel, in June 2025.