Influential Biochemist Svetlana Mojsov Named Winner of 2026 Kimberly Prize

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the Simpson Querrey Institute for Epigenetics announced today that distinguished biochemist Svetlana Mojsov, PhD, the Lulu Chow Wang and Robin Chemers Neustein Research Associate Professor at the Rockefeller University, New York, has been named the winner of the annual $250,000 Kimberly Prize in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics.

Mojsov received the prize for her discovery of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), an incretin hormone produced by gut tissue that plays a key role in insulin secretion and glucose metabolism. Her work has been translated into widely used treatments for diabetes and weight loss.

She will deliver a public lecture on the Feinberg campus in Chicago, visit with faculty, fellows and students, and attend an award dinner in spring of 2026.

“Dr. Mojsov’s legacy of groundbreaking and transformative work is a testament to her dedication and brilliance,” said Eric G. Neilson, MD, Lewis Landsberg Dean and Vice President for Medical Affairs. “She is an extraordinary scientist whose career in the laboratory has had a profound impact on human heath globally, and we are proud to recognize her with the 2026 Kimberly Prize.”

“We are delighted to select Dr. Mojsov as the 2026 Kimberly Prize winner for her pioneering discoveries and contributions on GLP-1. Her studies have transformed our understanding of peptide hormones and laid the foundation for life-changing therapies for type 2 diabetes and obesity,” said Ali Shilatifard, PhD, the chair and Robert Francis Furchgott Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, and director of the Simpson Querrey Institute for Epigenetics, which awards the annual Kimberly Prize.

“From early peptide synthesis to uncovering GLP-1’s incretin role, her impactful studies bridge fundamental science and clinical medicine. Dr. Mojsov’s legacy exemplifies the complete arc of discovery to global impact, embodying the spirit of the Kimberly Prize in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics,” Shilatifard said.

“I am especially honored to receive the 2026 Kimberly Prize for my work on the biochemistry and physiology of GLP-1,”Mojsov said.

About Svetlana Mojsov

Born in Skopje, North Macedonia, Mojsov earned her undergraduate degree in physical chemistry from the University of Belgrade before joining the laboratory of R. Bruce Merrifield, PhD, at Rockefeller University, who would eventually receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing solid-phase peptide synthesis. There, she completed her doctorate degree and postdoctoral training, pioneering synthetic strategies for glucagon and its analogs.

In her tenure at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Mojsov’s research led to the identification of GLP-1 as a potent incretin hormone with therapeutic potential for type 2 diabetes. Her studies demonstrated that GLP-1 stimulates insulin secretion and lowers blood glucose levels, findings that catalyzed the development of GLP-1 receptor agonists, including liraglutide and semaglutide. These medications have revolutionized the treatment of diabetes and obesity.

Mojsov’s scientific achievements have earned her numerous accolades, including the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, the Breakthrough Prize, the Pearl Meister Greengard Award, the Warren Triennial Prize, and election to the National Academy of Sciences. Her research has been recognized internationally with honors such as the Princess of Asturias Award, the Tang Prize, the VinFuture Prize for Innovation from Vietnam, and the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award. Through her decades-long commitment to peptide science and glucose metabolism, Mojsov’s career has been defined by scientific rigor and transformative discovery.

More about the Kimberly Prize

The Kimberly Prize, given by Kimberly Querrey in honor of her late husband, Lou Simpson, a Northwestern trustee, alumnus and benefactor, is the largest biochemistry award offered in the United States by a university. It is awarded annually to a scientist who has made outstanding biochemical research contributions to the molecular basis of life with a direct demonstrated link of their discovery into the clinic that improves human health.

The prize is administered by Feinberg through the Simpson Querrey Institute for Epigenetics.

In 2023, the inaugural award was presented to Jennifer A. Doudna, PhD, the Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair and professor in the Departments of Chemistry and of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, for her fundamental biochemical studies providing molecular insight into the function of CRISPR/Cas systems as tools for genome editing and the application of her work to biology and medicine.

Craig Crews, PhD, the John C. Malone Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and professor of Chemistry, of Pharmacology, and of Management at Yale University received the 2024 award. Crews is also executive director of the Yale Center for Molecular Discovery. He received the prize for his pioneering work in the pharmaceutical field of targeted protein degradation.

Ron Evans, PhD, professor and director of the Gene Expression Laboratory and March of Dimes Chair in Molecular and Developmental Biology at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, received the 2025 award for his fundamental discovery and characterization of nuclear hormone receptors and their applications for drug development and human health.

Querrey has been instrumental in supporting Northwestern’s passion for basic molecular discoveries and their application to medicine.

“Through this prize, we recognize and support individuals who, nationally and internationally, contribute to innovative, leading-edge science,” Shilatifard said. “Kimberly and her late husband Lou have always been great friends in supporting this extraordinary and essential mission of Northwestern University.”