3 VinFuture Prize 2023 winners in the Top 100 most influential people in the world

Accordingly, the 3 winners of the VinFuture 2023 Special Prize are: Prof. Daniel Joshua Drucker (Canada), Prof. Joel Francis Habener and Assoc. Prof. Svetlana Mojsov (USA).

These are the scientists honored by VinFuture for their work discovering treatments for diabetes, obesity and advancing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

The list is made annually by Time to recognize the most prominent figures in the world in many categories such as artists, leaders, inventors, pioneers... Accordingly, Professors Drucker, Habener and Associate Professor Mojsov were honored by Time in the category of most influential pioneers.

Scientists receive VinFuture 2023 Special Prize.

The professors were honored by Time magazine for their years of combined efforts to research and develop effective weight-loss drugs.

Scientists initially focused on diabetes drugs, Time reported, and identified a crucial link between insulin and incretins, part of a family of gut hormones called glucagon. The research helped them understand how GLP-1 controls blood sugar levels and weight.

At the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), Prof. Jens Juul Holst (also co-winner of the VinFuture 2023 Special Prize) found that after intestinal surgery, glucagon-like hormones increase insulin levels in the body.

At the same time, Professor Daniel Drucker (University of Toronto, Canada) and Professor Joel Habener (Massachusetts General Hospital, USA) discovered two forms of glucagon-like hormones, including GLP-1 with the molecular structure used in current drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound.

Associate Professor Svetlana Mojsov (Rockefeller University, USA), winner of the VinFuture 2023 Special Prize for Scientists researching new fields, has just been voted by Time magazine as one of the Top 100 most influential people in the world in 2024.

Associate Professor Svetlana Mojsov (Rockefeller University, USA) is the chemist who synthesized GLP-1 and developed antibodies against it for very important early studies. Drucker's experiments identified specific parts of GLP-1 and their role in influencing insulin levels.

Thanks to this result, Time said, GLP-1-based drugs are now approved in the United States to treat diabetes and obesity, while also reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Furthermore, researchers continue to explore other potential uses for GLP-1-based drugs, including reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, kidney disease, and liver disease.

Professor Daniel Joshua Drucker (Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Institute, University of Toronto, Canada), winner of the VinFuture 2023 Special Prize for Scientists researching new fields, has just been voted by Time magazine as one of the Top 100 most influential people in the world in 2024.

Previously, in December 2023, at the VinFuture Awards Ceremony Season 3, 3 scientists: Prof. Daniel Joshua Drucker (Canada), Prof. Joel Francis Habener (USA), Assoc. Prof. Svetlana Mojsov (USA) and Prof. Jens Juul Holst (Denmark) were awarded the VinFuture Special Prize for Scientists researching new fields worth 500,000 USD for their pioneering work on Discovering the role of glucagon-like peptides 1 (GLP-1).

The work lays the foundation for effective treatments for diabetes and obesity and advances new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

The work lays the foundation and opens up new hope in treating more than 400 million people with type 2 diabetes, more than 1 billion people with obesity and more than 3 million people with short bowel syndrome. In 2023, there will be more than 20 million doses of GLP-1 drugs used worldwide, an impressive increase of 6.7%.

In addition, the discovery of the mechanism of action of peptides has promoted research and development of new treatments for cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, etc.), which are the leading causes of death worldwide.

Notably, Time magazine's recognition of Associate Professor Svetlana further reinforces the vision and comprehensive evaluation criteria of the VinFuture Prize, as her pioneering role in the development of this weight-loss drug has rarely been recognized at major international biomedical awards, until being honored at the VinFuture Prize Ceremony in 2023.

Last year, Dr. Katalin Karikó and Prof. Drew Weissman – co-Prize winners of the VinFuture 2021 Main Prize – were awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work on nucleoside modifications, which led to the development of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

Honoring outstanding scientists with important contributions to the world has demonstrated the stature and vision of the VinFuture Prize Council. VinFuture increasingly demonstrates an important role in evaluating and promoting research in the field of global Science and Technology, contributing to enhancing Vietnam's position in the world.

Professor Joel Francis Habener (Harvard University, USA) is a pioneer in the field of endocrinology and diabetes and obesity. His research group was the first to discover two small molecules with a structure similar to glucagon in the macromolecule preproglucagon in animals (anglerfish) in 1981, which laid the foundation for later discoveries about the sequence and structure of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1).

Professor Daniel Joshua Drucker (Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, University of Toronto, Canada) is a leading scientist in the field of endocrinology and the biology of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). Professor Drucker's research on GLP-1 began during his time in the laboratory of Professor Joel Habener at Massachusetts General Hospital as a postdoctoral fellow, with the mission of investigating the physiological roles of GLP-1 and the cells that produce it.

Associate Professor Svetlana Mojsov (Rockefeller University, USA) has made groundbreaking contributions in discovering functional isoforms of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), opening up a series of research projects and developing therapies based on this peptide.

vtcnews.vn

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/3-chu-nhan-giai-thuong-vinfuture-2023-lot-top-100-nguoi-anh-huong-nhat-the-gioi-post382968.html