Dr. Semenza is a professor of pediatrics, radiation oncology and molecular radiation sciences, biological chemistry, medicine, and oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Semenza is the C. Michael Armstrong Professor of Pediatrics and serves as the director of the vascular program at the Institute for Cell Engineering. Dr. Semenza has led the field in uncovering how cells adapt to changing oxygen levels. He is best known for his groundbreaking discovery of the HIF-1 protein, which controls genes in response to changes in oxygen availability. The finding has far-reaching implications in understanding and treating low-oxygen health conditions such as coronary artery disease and tumor growth. Dr. Semenza was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for this groundbreaking research.