Linda B. Buck

Linda Brown Buck was born January 29, 1947. An American biologist, she trained her attention on the olfactory system, the sensory apparatus most organisms use to detect and distinguish scents. Working alongside Richard Axel, she identified the family of receptors responsible for recognizing odor molecules, clarifying a process that had remained opaque for centuries. The discovery earned them the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. She joined the faculty of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, where she continues her research.