Breakthrough Life Sciences Prize

Daniel J. Drucker won the Breakthrough Life Sciences For the discovery and characterization of GLP-1 and revealing its physiology and potential in treating diabetes and obesity.

Joel Habener won the Breakthrough Life Sciences For the discovery and characterization of GLP-1 and revealing its physiology and potential in treating diabetes and obesity.

Jens Juul Holst won the Breakthrough Life Sciences For the discovery and characterization of GLP-1 and revealing its physiology and potential in treating diabetes and obesity.

Lotte Bjerre Knudsen won the Breakthrough Life Sciences For the discovery and characterization of GLP-1 and revealing its physiology and potential in treating diabetes and obesity.

Svetlana Mojsov won the Breakthrough Life Sciences For the discovery and characterization of GLP-1 and revealing its physiology and potential in treating diabetes and obesity.

Alberto Ascherio won the Breakthrough Life Sciences For establishing the role of B cells in multiple sclerosis and developing B-cell based treatments, and for revealing that Epstein-Barr virus infection is the leading risk for multiple sclerosis.

Stephen L. Hauser won the Breakthrough Life Sciences For establishing the role of B cells in multiple sclerosis and developing B-cell based treatments, and for revealing that Epstein-Barr virus infection is the leading risk for multiple sclerosis.

David R. Liu won the Breakthrough Life Sciences For developing base editing and prime editing, technologies that edit the DNA of living systems without cutting the DNA double helix, and rewrite segments of genes at their native locations, enabling the correction or replacement of virtually any mutation.

Sabine Hadida won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for developing life-transforming drug combinations that repair the defective chloride channel protein in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Thomas Gasser won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for identifying GBA1 and LRRK2 as risk genes for Parkinson's disease, implicating autophagy and lysosomal biology as critical contributors to the pathogenesis of the disease.

Carl H. June won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the development of chimeric antigen receptor T cell immunotherapy whereby the patient's T cells are modified to target and kill cancer cells.

Paul Negulescu won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for developing life-transforming drug combinations that repair the defective chloride channel protein in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Ellen Sidransky won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for identifying GBA1 and LRRK2 as risk genes for Parkinson's disease, implicating autophagy and lysosomal biology as critical contributors to the pathogenesis of the disease.

Michel Sadelain won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the development of chimeric antigen receptor T cell immunotherapy whereby the patient's T cells are modified to target and kill cancer cells.

Fredrick Van Goor won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for developing life-transforming drug combinations that repair the defective chloride channel protein in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Andrew Singleton won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for identifying GBA1 and LRRK2 as risk genes for Parkinson's disease, implicating autophagy and lysosomal biology as critical contributors to the pathogenesis of the disease.

Clifford P. Brangwynne won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discovering a fundamental mechanism of cellular organization mediated by phase separation of proteins and RNA into membraneless liquid droplets.

Demis Hassabis won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for developing a deep learning AI method that rapidly and accurately predicts the three-dimensional structure of proteins from their amino acid sequence..

Emmanuel Mignot won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discovering that narcolepsy is caused by the loss of a small population of brain cells that make a wake-promoting substance, paving the way for the development of new treatments for sleep disorders..

Anthony A. Hyman won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discovering a fundamental mechanism of cellular organization mediated by phase separation of proteins and RNA into membraneless liquid droplets.

John Jumper won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for developing a deep learning AI method that rapidly and accurately predicts the three-dimensional structure of proteins from their amino acid sequence..

Masashi Yanagisawa won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discovering that narcolepsy is caused by the loss of a small population of brain cells that make a wake-promoting substance, paving the way for the development of new treatments for sleep disorders..

Jeffery W. Kelly won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for elucidating the molecular basis of neurodegenerative and cardiac transthyretin diseases, and for developing tafamidis, a drug that slows their progression.

Katalin Karikó won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for engineering modified RNA technology which enabled rapid development of effective COVID-19 vaccines.

Drew Weissman won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for engineering modified RNA technology which enabled rapid development of effective COVID-19 vaccines.

Shankar Balasubramanian won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the development of a robust and affordable method to determine DNA sequences on a massive scale, which has transformed the practice of science and medicine.

David Klenerman won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the development of a robust and affordable method to determine DNA sequences on a massive scale, which has transformed the practice of science and medicine.

Pascal Mayer won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the development of a robust and affordable method to determine DNA sequences on a massive scale, which has transformed the practice of science and medicine.

Richard J. Youle won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for elucidating a quality control pathway that clears damaged mitochondria and thereby protects against Parkinson's Disease.

David Baker won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for developing technology that allowed the design of proteins never seen before in nature, including novel proteins that have the potential for therapeutic intervention in human diseases.

Catherine Dulac won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for deconstructing the complex behavior of parenting to the level of cell-types and their wiring, and demonstrating that the neural circuits governing both male and female-specific parenting behaviors are present in both sexes.

Yuk Ming Dennis Lo won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discovering that fetal DNA is present in maternal blood and can be used for the prenatal testing of trisomy 21 and other genetic disorders

Arthur L. Horwich won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discovering functions of molecular chaperones in mediating protein folding and preventing protein aggregation.

David Julius won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discovering molecules, cells, and mechanisms underlying pain sensation.

Jeffrey M. Friedman won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the discovery of a new endocrine system through which adipose tissue signals the brain to regulate food intake.

F. Ulrich Hartl won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discovering functions of molecular chaperones in mediating protein folding and preventing protein aggregation.

Virginia Man-Yee Lee won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discovering TDP43 protein aggregates in frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and revealing that different forms of alpha-synuclein, in different cell types, underlie Parkinson's disease and Multiple System Atrophy.

Adrian R. Krainer won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the development of an effective antisense oligonucleotide therapy for children with the neurodegenerative disease spinal muscular atrophy.

Angelika Amon won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for determining the consequences of aneuploidy, an abnormal chromosome number resulting from chromosome mis-segregation.

C. Frank Bennett won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the development of an effective antisense oligonucleotide therapy for children with the neurodegenerative disease spinal muscular atrophy.

Xiaowei Zhuang won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discovering hidden structures in cells by developing super-resolution imaging – a method that transcends the fundamental spatial resolution limit of light microscopy.

Zhijian “James” Chen won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for elucidating how DNA triggers immune and autoimmune responses from the interior of a cell through the discovery of the DNA-sensing enzyme cGAS.

Don W. Cleveland won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for elucidating the molecular pathogenesis of a type of inherited ALS, including the role of glia in neurodegeneration, and for establishing antisense oligonucleotide therapy in animal models of ALS and Huntington disease.

Kim Nasmyth won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for elucidating the sophisticated mechanism that mediates the perilous separation of duplicated chromosomes during cell division and thereby prevents genetic diseases such as cancer.

Kazutoshi Mori won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for elucidating the unfolded protein response, a cellular quality-control system that detects disease-causing unfolded proteins and directs cells to take corrective measures.

Peter Walter won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for elucidating the unfolded protein response, a cellular quality-control system that detects disease-causing unfolded proteins and directs cells to take corrective measures.

Joanne Chory won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discovering how plants optimize their growth, development, and cellular structure to transform sunlight into chemical energy.

Huda Yahya Zoghbi won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discoveries of the genetic causes and biochemical mechanisms of spinocerebellar ataxia and Rett syndrome, findings that have provided insight into the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative and neurological diseases.

Yoshinori Ohsumi won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for elucidating autophagy, the recycling system that cells use to generate nutrients from their own inessential or damaged components.

Roeland Nusse won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for pioneering research on the Wnt pathway, one of the crucial intercellular signaling systems in development, cancer and stem cell biology.

Harry F. Noller won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discovering the centrality of RNA in forming the active centers of the ribosome, the fundamental machinery of protein synthesis in all cells, thereby connecting modern biology to the origin of life and also explaining how many natural antibiotics disrupt protein synthesis.

Stephen J. Elledge won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for elucidating how eukaryotic cells sense and respond to damage in their DNA and providing insights into the development and treatment of cancer.

Edward S. Boyden won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the development and implementation of optogenetics – the programming of neurons to express light-activated ion channels and pumps, so that their electrical activity can be controlled by light.

Helen Hobbs won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the discovery of human genetic variants that alter the levels and distribution of cholesterol and other lipids, inspiring new approaches to the prevention of cardiovascular and liver disease.

John Hardy won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discovering mutations in the amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene that cause early onset Alzheimer's disease, linking accumulation of APP-derived beta-amyloid peptide to Alzheimer's pathogenesis and inspiring new strategies for disease prevention.

Karl Deisseroth won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the development and implementation of optogenetics – the programming of neurons to express light-activated ion channels and pumps, so that their electrical activity can be controlled by light.

Svante Pääbo won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for pioneering the sequencing of ancient DNA and ancient genomes, thereby illuminating the origins of modern humans, our relationships to extinct relatives such as Neanderthals, and the evolution of human populations and traits.

Gary Ruvkun won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the discovery of a new world of genetic regulation by microRNAs, a class of tiny RNA molecules that inhibit translation or destabilize complementary mRNA targets.

Victor Ambros won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the discovery of a new world of genetic regulation by microRNAs, a class of tiny RNA molecules that inhibit translation or destabilize complementary mRNA targets.

Jennifer A. Doudna won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for harnessing an ancient mechanism of bacterial immunity into a powerful and general technology for editing genomes, with wide-ranging implications across biology and medicine.

Emmanuelle Charpentier won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for harnessing an ancient mechanism of bacterial immunity into a powerful and general technology for editing genomes, with wide-ranging implications across biology and medicine.

Alim Louis Benabid won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the discovery and pioneering work on the development of high-frequency deep brain stimulation (DBS), which has revolutionized the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

C. David Allis won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the discovery of covalent modifications of histone proteins and their critical roles in the regulation of gene expression and chromatin organization, advancing the understanding of diseases ranging from birth defects to cancer.

Alexander Varshavsky won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discovering critical molecular determinants and biological functions of intracellular protein degradation.

Richard P. Lifton won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the discovery of genes and biochemical mechanisms that cause hypertension.

Robert Langer won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discoveries leading to the development of controlled drug-release systems and new biomaterials.

Michael N. Hall won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the discovery of Target of Rapamycin (TOR) and its role in cell growth control.

Mahlon R. DeLong won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for defining the interlocking circuits in the brain that malfunction in Parkinson's disease – this scientific foundation underlies the circuit-based treatment of Parkinson's disease by deep brain stimulation.

James P. Allison won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the discovery of T cell checkpoint blockade as effective cancer therapy.

Shinya Yamanaka won the Breakthrough Life Sciences For induced pluripotent stem cells.

Robert Weinberg won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for characterization of human cancer genes.

Bert Vogelstein won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for cancer genomics and tumor suppressor genes.

Charles L. Sawyers won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for cancer genes and targeted therapy.

Eric S. Lander won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the discovery of general principles for identifying human disease genes, and enabling their application to medicine through the creation and analysis of genetic, physical and sequence maps of the human genome.

Napoleone Ferrara won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for discoveries in the mechanisms of angiogenesis that led to therapies for cancer and eye diseases.

Titia de Lange won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for research on telomeres, illuminating how they protect chromosome ends and their role in genome instability in cancer.

Hans Clevers won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for describing the role of Wnt signaling in tissue stem cells and cancer.

Lewis C. Cantley won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the discovery of PI 3-Kinase and its role in cancer metabolism.

David Botstein won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for linkage mapping of Mendelian disease in humans using DNA polymorphisms.

Cornelia I. Bargmann won the Breakthrough Life Sciences for the genetics of neural circuits and behavior, and synaptic guidepost molecules.