Mary-Claire King

Mary-Claire King identified that hereditary breast and ovarian cancer is caused by mutations in a single dominant susceptibility gene mapped to chromosome 17q, which was subsequently cloned as BRCA1. This discovery, published in 1990 after 17 years of research, fundamentally changed how familial breast cancer is understood and translated directly into BRCA genetic testing, prophylactic surgery, and PARP inhibitor development. She also advocates for population-based BRCA screening for all women regardless of family history, and her work in forensic genetics has identified disappeared persons from human rights violations.