Joseph L. Goldstein and his colleague Michael S. Brown have worked together for the last 30 years on the genetics and regulation of cholesterol metabolism. Their discovery of the LDL receptor as the major molecule regulating cholesterol metabolism and its genetic disruption in the human disease familial hypercholesterolemia have been recognized by their receipt of numerous awards, including the Albert D. Lasker Award in Basic Medical Research (1985), Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1985), and the U.S. National Medal of Science (1988). More recently, Drs. Goldstein and Brown's discovery of the SREBP family of membrane-bound transcription factors and the elucidation of the proteolytic pathway by which the SREBPs become activated to regulate lipid metabolism were recognized by the receipt of the Albany Medical Prize in Biomedical Sciences in 2003. Dr. Goldstein is a past president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (1985-86) and was a member of the Governing Council of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (1991-94). He was also a Non-Resident Fellow of The Salk Institute (1983-1994) and served as Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1995-2002). Currently, Dr. Goldstein is a member of the Board of Trustees of The Rockefeller University and the Board of Trustees of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and he serves on several scientific advisory boards for academic institutions and biotechnology companies. He is also Chairman of the Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards Jury.