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Michael W. Young (1949) has dedicated nearly three decades of research studying various patterns of sleep and wakefulness within the human body that are controlled by biological clocks. Through the study of Drosophila melanogaster, his lab has furthered knowledge on this species by identifying the majority of the genes associated with regulation of its circadian clock.

Early Life
Michael W. Young was born in Miami, Florida in 1949. His father worked for Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation managing aluminum ingot sales for the Southeastern United States. His mother worked for a law firm as a secretary. Despite no history of science or medicine in either of their backgrounds, Young’s parents were supportive of his interest in science and provided the means of scientific exploration through microscopes and telescopes. They even lived in an environment close to private zoos, where occasionally some of the animals would escape into their backyard.

Michael Young grew up in and around Miami, Florida. Then, his family moved to Dallas, Texas where he continued high school. In his early teens, Michael’s parents gifted him one of Darwin’s books on evolution and biological mysteries. The book described biological clocks as the reason why a strange plant he had seen years earlier closed during the day while opening at night. The location of these clocks were unknown, and this sparked Michael Young’s interest early on.

Family Life
While working at Stanford University, Michael Young met his future wife Laurel Eckhardt who worked just down the hall from the lab in which he worked. Laurel was pursuing her PhD at the time with Len Herzenberg, and today can be found at Hunter College as a Professor of Biology. Michael and Laurel still work in close vicinities. Together, they have two daughters Natalie and Arissa.

Academic career
In 1971 while studying at the University of Texas at Austin, Young earned his undergraduate degree in biology ,and four years later a PhD in genetics. It was during his time here that Young worked with Burke Judd and became fascinated with the research. Drosophila genome was first introduced to Young and he was interested in the roles of each gene. He also read of Ron Konopka and Seymour Benzer’s report on Drosophila circadian rhythm mutants located on the period locus. This led to future work with cloning the per gene years later.

Michael Young continued his studies through postdoctoral training at Stanford University School of Medicine with an interest in molecular genetics and particular focus on transposable elements. He worked in Dave Hogness’ lab and became familiar with the methods of recombinant DNA. Two years later, he joined Rockefeller University. From 1978 on he was involved in the University, serving as associate professor in 1984 and later named professor in 1988. Later in 2013, Young served as the Vice President for Academic Affairs and was a professor at the Rockefeller University. That following year, he became the Richard and Jeanne Fisher Chair in 2004.

Positions and Honors

 * 1978: Andre and Bella Meyer Foundation fellowship ,
 * 2006: Pittendrigh/ Aschoff Award from the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms ,
 * 2007: Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology ,
 * 2007: Member of National Academy of Sciences ,
 * 2011: Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize (with Michael Rosbash and Jeffrey C. Hall)
 * 2012: Massry Prize
 * 2012: Canada Gairdner International Award (with Michael Rosbash and Jeffrey C. Hall)
 * 2013: Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine
 * 2013: Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences (with Michael Rosbash and Jeffrey C. Hall)