Novel about world class scientist who wins Nobel laureate and then develops dementia and commits suicide in one of his remaining periods of lucidity

[Don]

Novel is at least 20 years old now. As I recall, the book was not solely about the laureate; He was just one of several significant characters.

I tried my best to search for it but any query with "nobel prize winner" just returns books authored by Nobel prize winners or people writing specifically about the prize (even if I include "novel" as a search term).

Similarly, any query with "Alzheimer's" or "dementia" only returns self-help or uplifting stories about the topic - not what I'm looking for.

Thanks!

[Don]

Ack, I forgot to select the unsolved folder - sorry! Hope someone can move it. (Edit mode doesn't offer that ability.)

[Kris]

No worries. The "edit" link after the header only appears on the full desktop website, not the mobile website or app.

[Amber (Daisymau)]

Fiction or non-fiction?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Where and when is it set?
Author's nationality and gender?

[Don]

Lobstergirl: Set in the US at the current time (for when the book was written which I don't remember except that's it's probably 20 years old now.

Amber: Fiction (Meant to imply this when I said "Novel")

Kris: Thanks for moving it. (The folder option doesn't appear during Edit mode even on a desktop! Only during initial creation.)

I recall that the book got a lot of press. Was on the NYTimes best seller list. So it's not an obscure book - it's just hard to find using search engines that insist they know what I really meant.

[Kris]

On the desktop website, the "edit" link is quite small and appears at the end of your topic header ("Novel about world class scientist...") when you're signed in.

[arratavy]

Is it possible the protag had Huntington's? Frameshift by Robert J. Sawyer was shortlisted for the Hugo award and is centered around the Human Genome Project, which was sure to generate buzz from the press in 1997.
Both the protag and the protag's mentor are Nobel winners when the book concludes.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Sounds interesting.