| Who is it? | Geneticist, Molecular Biologist |
| Birth Day | June 06, 1944 |
| Birth Place | Falmouth, Kentucky, United States |
| Age | 79 YEARS OLD |
| Birth Sign | Cancer |
| Alma mater | Union College University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Holcombe |
| Awards | NAS Award in Molecular Biology (1980) Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize (1988) Dickson Prize (1991) Nobel Prize (1993) National Medal of Science (2004) |
| Fields | Biologist |
| Institutions | Caltech Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory MIT |
| Doctoral students | Connie Cepko Andrew Fire |
| Website | web.mit.edu/sharplab |
Philip Allen Sharp, a renowned geneticist and molecular biologist in the United States, is expected to have a net worth ranging from $100,000 to $1 million in 2024. Sharp has made significant contributions to the field of molecular biology, particularly in understanding the intricate mechanisms of gene expression and RNA splicing. As a co-discoverer of RNA splicing, his research has paved the way for advancements in gene therapy and biotechnology. With his exceptional scientific achievements and numerous accolades, it is no surprise that Sharp has built a substantial net worth through his expertise and contributions to the scientific community.
Sharp was born in Falmouth, Kentucky, the son of Kathrin (Colvin) and Joseph Walter Sharp. Sharp married Ann Holcombe in 1964. They have three daughters.
Sharp studied at Union College and majored in chemistry and mathematics, afterwards completing his Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1969. Following his Ph.D., he did his postdoctoral training at the California Institute of Technology until 1971, where he studied plasmids. Later, he studied gene expression in human cells at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory as a senior scientist under James Dewey Watson.
In 1974, he was offered a position at MIT by Biologist Salvador Luria. He was Director of MIT's Center for Cancer Research (now the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research) from 1985 to 1991; head of the Biology department from 1991 to 1999; and Director of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research from 2000 to 2004. He is currently a professor of Biology and member of the Koch Institute, and has been an Institute Professor since 1999. Sharp co-founded Biogen, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, and Magen Biosciences, and has served on the boards of all three companies.
In addition to the Nobel Prize, Sharp has won several notable awards, including the 2004 National Medal of Science, the 1999 Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Sciences of the American Philosophical Society, and the 1988 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University together with Thomas R. Cech.
In October 2010 Sharp participated in the USA Science and Engineering Festival's Lunch with a Laureate program where middle and high school students got to engage in an informal conversation with a Nobel Prize-winning scientist over a brown-bag lunch. Sharp is also a member of the USA Science and Engineering Festival's Advisory Board. In 2011, he was listed at #5 on the MIT150 list of the top 150 innovators and ideas from MIT.
Sharp is an elected member of several academic societies, including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. He was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 2011. In 2012, he was elected the President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Pendleton County, Kentucky—Sharp's birthplace—named its current middle school after him.
