On Thursday, the prestigious Lasker Awards recognized significant contributions in the fields of medicine and public health research, the New York Times reports.
Among the honorees were scientists whose work led to the development of a new class of obesity drugs, researchers making strides in H.I.V. prevention, and a scientist uncovering mechanisms of immune response.
The Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award was presented to Dr. Joel Habener, Svetlana Mojsov, and Lotte Bjerre Knudsen for their pioneering research on the GLP-1 hormone. This hormone is the basis for several breakthrough drugs used to treat obesity, including Wegovy and Ozempic. The award highlights the crucial roles each scientist played: Dr. Habener discovered the hormone, Mojsov identified its active form, and Knudsen developed a formulation that led to significant advancements in obesity treatment.
Dr. Habener’s work began in the 1970s with a focus on diabetes and led to the identification of a hormone resembling glucagon. The hormone, later named GLP-1, was further explored by Dr. Mojsov, who determined its biologically active form and its effects on blood sugar regulation. Dr. Knudsen’s work extended this research into obesity treatment by developing a long-lasting GLP-1 analog, which eventually resulted in the drug Saxenda and, later, Wegovy.
In addition to the obesity research team, the Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award was given to Quarraisha and Salim Abdool Karim for their extensive work in combating H.I.V. in Africa. The Abdool Karims, who founded the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa, have been instrumental in advancing prevention methods and conducting critical research despite numerous challenges.
The Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award was awarded to Dr. Zhijian Chen from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Chen’s research uncovered how the body detects foreign DNA, such as that from viruses or cancer cells, and signals the immune system to respond. This discovery has significant implications for understanding and treating infectious diseases, cancer, and autoimmune disorders.
