Punjab-born Nobel Laureate Har Gobind Khorana gets special dedication on death anniversary. Check out his impressive journey

The official Instagram account of The Nobel Prize Organization shared this post November 9.

Updated on: Nov 9, 2020, 18:15:04 IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By Sanya Budhiraja

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The Nobel Prize Organization shared a post dedicated to “an icon of molecular biology” aka, Har Gobind Khorana who passed away on today’s date, November 9, in 2011. The share celebrates Khorana’s achievements, highlights his contributions to the discipline, and sheds light on his inspiring journey. Reading the caption shared alongside the photograph may leave you in awe of Khorana.

The image shows Nobel Laureate Har Gobind Khorana. (Instagram/@nobelprize_org)

“When Har Gobind Khorana passed away on 9 November 2011, Nature’s obituary stated: ‘That someone with such a humble background could rise to become an icon of molecular biology is a testament to his extraordinary drive, discipline and striving for excellence’” starts off the text.

It then goes on to talk about Khorana’s past. It states, “Khorana was born in Raipur, a little village in Punjab, which is now part of eastern Pakistan. The correct date of his birth is not known; that shown in documents is 9 January 1922. His father was a village agricultural taxation clerk in the British Indian system of government”.

Despite being financially strained, Khorana’s father was dedicated to educating his children. Khorana completed high school and went on to receive a bachelor’s as well as a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Punjab in Lahore.

You can read about the rest of Khorana’s journey, from a chemistry graduate to a Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine in the year 1968, below:

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When Har Gobind Khorana passed away on 9 November 2011, Nature's obituary stated: "That someone with such a humble background could rise to become an icon of molecular biology is a testament to his extraordinary drive, discipline and striving for excellence." Khorana was born in Raipur, a little village in Punjab, which is now part of eastern Pakistan. The correct date of his birth is not known; that shown in documents is 9 January 1922. His father was a village agricultural taxation clerk in the British Indian system of government. Although poor, his father was dedicated to educating his children and they were practically the only literate family in the village inhabited by about 100 people. Despite poor educational facilities, Khorana completed high school and went on to receive bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry from University of the Punjab in Lahore. In 1945, Khorana moved to the University of Liverpool, UK, under a Government of India Fellowship where he obtained a PhD in 1948. Khorana spent a postdoctoral year (1948-1949) at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in Zurich, before he moved to Cambridge for two years. A job offer in 1952 from Dr. Gordon M. Shrum of British Columbia took him to Vancouver, where Khorana worked in the field of biologically interesting phosphate esters and nucleic acids. In 1960 Khorana moved to the Institute for Enzyme Research at the University of Wisconsin. He became a naturalised citizen of the United States. From 1970, Khorana was Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Biology and Chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Khorana shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1968 with Robert Holley and Marshall Nirenberg "for their interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis." Image courtesy of the UW-Madison Archives, #S04436. #NobelPrize #NobelLaureate #scientist #medicine #genetics

A post shared by Nobel Prize (@nobelprize_org) on Nov 8, 2020 at 11:42pm PST

Since being shared on the photo and video sharing platform just a few hours ago, this post has garnered a lot of praise from netizens. It currently has nearly 10,000 likes and many comments.

Here is what Instagram users had to say about the post. One person said, “Amazing l am so inspired”.

Another individual wrote, “We hail Sir HG Khorana”. “So proud that I belong to his country,” read one comment under the post.

What are your thoughts on the share?

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