Gary Ruvkun’s groundbreaking research on microRNA paved the way for significant advancements in gene regulation, ultimately culminating in his recognition with the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.In the early days of their discovery in the 1990s, both Ruvkun and his collaborator Victor Ambros were underappreciated within the scientific community, as they revealed crucial aspects of RNA research breakthroughs that would later prove vital.