Sydney Brenner

Sydney Brenner established C. elegans as the first multicellular organism to have its complete genome sequenced, creating the model organism genomics paradigm that was subsequently scaled to the human genome and cancer genomics. His Nobel Prize-winning work on the genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death established fundamental concepts of apoptosis that are central to cancer biology. His conceptual contributions to genomics including the idea of comprehensive genome analysis as a route to understanding biological systems laid the intellectual foundation for the cancer omics revolution.