[Ads /]
Charles M. Rice was born in Sacramento. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of California Davis in 1974 and earned his Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology in 1981, according to his biography on The Rockefeller University website, where Rice is currently a professor.
The prestigious Nobel Prize comes with a gold medal and prize money of over $1.1 million courtesy of a bequest left by Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel.
The medicine prize carries particular significance this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has highlighted the importance that medical research has for societies and economies around the world.
[Ads /]
RELATED: Former Berkeley professor wins Nobel Prize in Medicine
The other prizes are physics, chemists, literature, peace and economics.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.