The 2024 Lasker Awards were announced today. A total of six individuals were recognized this year with awards in three categories — basic research, clinical research, and public service. Each award carries a stipend of $250,000.
The Lasker Awards, sometimes referred to as “America’s Nobels,” recognize significant achievements in medicine and biomedical research. Since 1945, the Lasker Foundation has awarded more than 400 prizes to outstanding scientists and clinical researchers.
Basic Medical Research
The 2024 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award went to Zhijian “James” Chen, Professor of Molecular Biology and Director of the Center for Inflammation Research at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Chen, who also holds the George L. MacGregor Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Science, was recognized for his discovery of the cGAS enzyme that senses pathogens like viruses and bacteria and triggers the body’s immune system. His work provides clues for new treatments of cancer and other diseases.
“Dr. Chen’s research has elucidated the process by which our bodies fight off invasive pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and other microbes, through the detection of wayward intracellular nucleic acids. Insights into this signaling pathway provide a foundation for new approaches to the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases as well as vaccine development,” said Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D., President of UT Southwestern.
Clinical Medical Research
This year’s Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award was awarded to three scientists for their research on GLP-1-based drugs that have transformed the treatment of obesity.
The winners were Joel Habener (professor of medicine at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital) and Svetlana Mojsov (research associate professor at The Rockefeller University) for their work onthe physiologically active form of the hormone, and also Lotte Bjerre Knudsen (professor and chief scientific advisor at Novo Nordisk) who helped turn the hormone into medications that promote weight loss, such as Ozempic.
Almost 900 million adults live with obesity worldwide; it afflicts as many as 40% of adults in the U.S. Historically, attempts to make drugs to help achieve weight loss have not proven very effective. “Habener, Mojsov, and Knudsen have introduced a new era of weight management in which GLP-1-based pharmaceuticals promise to dramatically enhance health,” according to the announcement.
Public Service
The Lasker-Bloomber Public Service award was given to Quarraisha and Salim S. Abdool Karim, epidemiologists at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and also the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), which they helped establish.
The husband-wife team was recognized for advancing our understanding of heterosexual HIV transmission and introducing life-saving approaches to prevent and treat HIV. The prize also recognized them their leadership in public health policy and their science advocacy.
“Growing up under apartheid in South Africa, Quarraisha and Salim Abdool Karim gained a deep grasp of how societal inequities undermine health, education, and quality of life,” according to the Lasker announcement. “Discrimination and segregation had limited their educational choices, and they recognized the broader effects as well. Drawn to correct wrongs, they have consistently juggled professional advancement with activism.”