WSU Alum/Nobel Prize Winner to be Honored Oct. 14 in Pullman

PULLMAN, Wash. – Irwin “Ernie” Rose, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, will be presented Washington State University’s highest alumni honor Oct. 14.

In 2004, Rose, 79, an enzymologist and emeritus researcher at the University of California, Irvine, and two Israeli researchers received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation.” Their discoveries may lead to the development of drugs that combat cancer, cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Rose moved to Spokane with his family at age 13. After graduating in 1943 from Spokane’s Lewis and Clark High School, he entered Washington State University.

During his studies at WSU, he was influenced by Herb Eastlick, a prominent WSU zoology teacher and mentor to many aspiring health care professionals, and Orlin Biddulph of WSU botany.

So he could prepare for a biochemistry career, Rose transferred from WSU to the University of Chicago, where he graduated and earned a doctoral degree in biochemistry.

His professional career started at Yale University Medical School as a biochemistry faculty member. Later, he joined the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia as a senior scientist. While there, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. In 1995, he retired from Fox Chase.

Rose lives in Laguna Woods, Calif., with his wife, biochemist Zelda Budenstein Rose.

WSU Regents approved awarding the Regents’ Distinguished Alumnus Award to Rose during their May 6 meeting. Established in 1962, the award honors alumni who have made a distinguished contribution to society or who, through personal achievement, have brought distinction to the university.