In 2005, Arul Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD, and his lab discovered that prostate cancer develops when a gene regulated by androgens called TMPRSS2 fuses with a transcription factor called ERG. Since then, he and his team have continued their research on gene fusion, identifying gene fusions in other common cancers and developing a urine-based screening test that better detects prostate cancer. Chinnaiyan was recently awarded the 2022 Sjöberg Prize by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which also awards Nobel Prizes.
