There have been 32 Cambridge associated winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 19 of whom were either undergraduates or postgraduate students.
In some respects, it might be argued that this award goes to people whose work has a more immediate impact on us mere mortals. This is the nature of the underlying research. As an example, Bob Edwards (Churchill Fellow) won the 2010 for effectively inventing in vitro fertilisation. This work was done with Patrick Steptoe (King’s, London) and their research nurse, Jean Purdy (born in Cambridge). The first “test-tube baby”, Louise Brown, was born on25 July 1978. To date, an estimated 8,000,000 people have been born using this technique. Of note, Sir Robert, always credited Jean Prudy, with the success of their work, stating, “Jean Purdy was the heart of the team, the person who believed in the science and the people involved. She was essential in the development of IVF.” Neither Purdy nor Steptoe were eligible for the Nobel Prize as they had died before the award.