Joseph L. Goldstein

Joseph L. Goldstein (born April 18, 1940) is an American biochemist and physician best known for his groundbreaking discoveries in cholesterol metabolism, for which he shared the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Michael S. Brown. Their work elucidated the role of the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor in regulating cholesterol homeostasis in cells, providing fundamental insights into familial hypercholesterolemia and the mechanisms underlying atherosclerosis. Goldstein's research has also advanced understanding of sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) and regulated intramembrane proteolysis, influencing the development of statin drugs for treating cardiovascular disease.

Born in Sumter, South Carolina, to a family that owned a clothing store, Goldstein earned a B.S. in chemistry summa cum laude from Washington and Lee University in 1962 and an M.D. from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in 1966. After completing his internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital (1966–1968), he conducted postdoctoral research at the National Institutes of Health (1968–1970) and as a special fellow at the University of Washington (1970–1972). In 1972, he joined the faculty at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, where he has remained, rising to Professor in 1976, Chairman of the Department of Molecular Genetics in 1977, and Regental Professor in 1985; he currently holds the Paul J. Thomas Chair in Medicine and the Julie and Louis A. Beecherl, Jr. Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Research.

The family soon relocated to Kingstree, South Carolina, where Goldstein grew up. His parents owned and operated a clothing store, originally known as Silverman's department store, which they took over in the small town. As a Jewish family in the rural South, they were part of a modest Jewish community amid a predominantly agricultural and low-country setting of limited socioeconomic opportunities.