Keynote speaker Michael W Young is an American geneticist who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2019. He co-shared the prize with Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza. During his career, Dr. Young made significant contributions to the identification of molecular processes that control the circadian rhythm.

His numerous studies have provided an insight into physiological processes, such as sleep and metabolism.
Young received his biology degree from the University of Texas in 1971. Later, he continued studying in order to obtain a Ph.D. in genetics in 1975. This is where Young became interested in Drosophila studies, which led to his later research into cloning the period gene. Additionally, Michael Young pursued postdoctoral studies at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he developed an interest in molecular genetics with a special emphasis on transposable elements.

In the early 1980s, Young and two lab members at Rockefeller University intensively studied the circadian genes of Drosophila. Segments of recombinant Drosophila DNA were produced, amplified in bacteria, then injected into mutant animals. Michael W Young and his lab members utilized a locomotive behavior monitor in order to test behavioral activity. The crew observed and recorded flying activity day and night to prove that the fly recovered circadian behavioral cycles by gene transfer. Then, by detecting the gene sequence on the X chromosome, scientists discovered that the arrhythmic mutation generated a nonfunctional protein while the amino acid sequence of a functional protein varied for a long period and for a short period.

In the 1990s, Dr. Young contributed to the discovery of the molecular process that controls the body’s internal clock. On the basis of this discovery, he uncovered yet another key gene, Timeless. Later, Young examined molecular alterations in the circadian rhythm that are responsible for human sleep problems.

During his career, speaker Michael W Young has received a number of awards, with the latest one being the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2017. Michael joined the American Philosophical Society in 2018.