Deborah E. Wiley, Chair of The Wiley Foundation, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE: JWa & JWb), announced today that the twelfth annual Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences will be awarded to Dr. Michael Young, Rockefeller University, Dr. Jeffrey Hall, Brandeis University (Emeritus), and Dr. Michael Rosbash, Brandeis University.

The Wiley Prize is being awarded to Dr. Young, Dr. Hall and Dr. Rosbash for the discovery of the molecular mechanisms governing circadian rhythms.

“The molecular network discovered by these researchers imparts cyclic behavior to many biological processes including sleep and wakefulness, metabolism and even the response to drugs,” said Dr. Günter Blobel, Chairman of the awards jury for the Wiley Prize.

Studies of the molecular basis for circadian rhythmicity began in the early 1980s in the laboratory of Dr. Young at Rockefeller University and Drs. Hall and Rosbash at Brandeis. Over the past three decades the work of the three investigators focused on the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster. Their research has shown that the fly’s circadian clocks are formed through the actions of a small group of genes.

These discoveries apply not only to insects but also to humans and other mammals, and they could ultimately lead to the development of drugs to treat sleep disorders and related ones such as jet lag, plus maladies associated with shift-work.

The Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences recognizes contributions that have opened new fields of research or have advanced novel concepts or their applications in a particular biomedical discipline. It honors a specific contribution or a series of contributions that demonstrate significant leadership and innovation. This year’s award will be presented to Dr. Rosbash, Dr. Hall and Dr. Young on April 5, 2013 at The Rockefeller University in New York City.

Read more about the prize, the Wiley Foundation Jury, and past winners at The Wiley Foundation website.

Read the full press release.