Svetlana Mojsov, the Lulu Chow Wang and Robin Chemers Neustein Research Associate Professor at Rockefeller University in New York, has received the 2026 Kimberly Prize in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics.
Presented annually by the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the Simpson Querrey Institute for Epigenetics, the $250,000 prize recognizes a scientist who has made outstanding biochemical research contributions to the molecular basis of life with a direct demonstrated link to their discovery into the clinic that improves human health. It is the largest biochemistry award offered in the United States by a university.
Dr. Mojsov received the Kimberly Prize for her discovery of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), a hormone connected to insulin secretion. She first discovered GLP-1 while conducting research at Massachusetts General Hospital in the 1980s. Over the past four decades, Dr. Mojsov’s findings have contributed to the development of drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, such as Ozempic and Wegovy.
“Dr. Mojsov’s legacy of groundbreaking and transformative work is a testament to her dedication and brilliance,” said Eric G. Neilson the Lewis Landsberg Dean and vice president for medical affairs at Northwestern. “She is an extraordinary scientist whose career in the laboratory has had a profound impact on human health globally, and we are proud to recognize her with the 2026 Kimberly Prize.”
A native of Macedonia, Dr. Mojsov earned her undergraduate degree in physical chemistry from Belgrade University. She received her Ph.D. from Rockefeller University, where she was her lab’s first woman graduate student. After graduating, she stayed with her lab as a postdoctoral researcher for five years. She ultimately returned to the university, where she has served as a research associate professor for the past three decades.