# Phillip Allen Sharp

_American biologist_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/phillip-allen-sharp
Last updated: 2026-10-31

> Phillip Allen Sharp (born June 6, 1944) is an American geneticist and molecular biologist who co-discovered RNA splicing. He shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Richard J. Roberts for "the discovery that genes in eukaryotes are not contiguous strings but contain introns, and that the splicing of messenger RNA to delete those introns can occur in different ways, yielding different proteins from the same DNA sequence". He was awarded the 2015 Othmer Gold Medal.

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 6 June 1944 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q312977#P569))
- **Place of birth:** Falmouth ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q312977#P19))
- **Citizenship:** United States ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q312977#P27))
- **Occupation:** geneticist; molecular biologist; university teacher; chemist; biochemist ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q312977#P106))
- **Education:** University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Union Commonwealth University ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q312977#P69))
- **Awards:** Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research; Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; Canada Gairdner International Award; National Medal of Science; Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize; Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. Prize; Dickson Prize in Medicine; NAS Award in Molecular Biology; Mendel Medal; Foreign Member of the Royal Society; Othmer Gold Medal; Howard Taylor Ricketts Prize; AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research; Winthrop-Sears Medal ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q312977#P166))

## About

Sharp's current research focuses on small RNAs and other types of non-coding RNAs. His laboratory works to identify the target mRNAs of microRNAs (miRNAs), and has discovered a class of miRNAs that are produced from sequences adjacent to transcription start sites. His laboratory also studies how miRNA gene regulation functions in angiogenesis and cellular stress.

## Questions

**When was Phillip Allen Sharp born?**  
Phillip Allen Sharp was born on 6 June 1944 in Falmouth.

**Where did Phillip Allen Sharp study?**  
Phillip Allen Sharp was educated at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Union Commonwealth University.

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## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Phillip Allen Sharp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillip_Allen_Sharp) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q312977](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q312977) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Phillip Sharp HD2007 with Winthrop Sears Medal (cropped).jpg by Staff photographer (CC BY-SA 3.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phillip_Sharp_HD2007_with_Winthrop_Sears_Medal_(cropped).jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Phillip Allen Sharp, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Phillip Sharp HD2007 with Winthrop Sears Medal (cropped).jpg — Staff photographer, CC BY-SA 3.0.

## Cite this page

"Phillip Allen Sharp". DigiNepal. Last updated 31 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/phillip-allen-sharp. Retrieved 8 November 2026.