Northwestern accepts nominations for the $250,000 Kimberly Prize in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
The prize is awarded to a scientist who has made outstanding contributions to the molecular basis of life.
Northwestern University is accepting nominations for its $250,000 Kimberly Prize in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, which will be awarded annually in 2025.
The Kimberley Prize, the most highly endowed biochemistry prize in the United States, is open to scientists who have made outstanding biochemical research contributions to the molecular basis of life and have demonstrated a direct clinical relevance of their discoveries to improving human health. People of all nationalities and institutional affiliations are eligible to apply.
The 2025 Kimberly Prize recipient will give a public lecture in the spring and participate in other scholarly activities at Northwestern.
The inaugural Kimberly Prize was awarded in 2023 to Dr. Jennifer Doudna for her fundamental biochemical studies providing molecular insights into the function of CRISPR/Cas9 systems as genome editing tools and the application of her work in biology and medicine. In 2024, the prize was awarded to Dr. Craig Crews for his pioneering work in the pharmaceutical field of targeted protein degradation.
“We have had two years of outstanding award winners and are excited to accept nominations for the third year of this important award,” said Ali Shilatifard, PhD, Robert Francis Furchgott Professor and Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics. Shilatifard is also director of Feinberg’s Simpson Querrey Institute for Epigenetics.
“The Kimberley Prize in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics recognizes the outstanding scientific contributions of an individual who has elucidated biological mechanisms with groundbreaking implications for human health and well-being,” said Shilatifard.
Nominations may be submitted at feinberg.northwestern.edu/kimberly-prize/.
Nominations will be accepted until November 15, 2024.
Nomination letters should be one page or less and describe the nominee’s professional experience, achievements, qualifications for the award, and resume. Nominations from experts in the field and institutional nominations are welcome; direct applications will not be accepted.
The Kimberly Prize is made possible by a generous gift from Kimberly Querrey in honor of her late husband, Lou Simpson, who passed away in 2022. Simpson, a lifetime trustee of Northwestern, was a great friend of the university. In recognition of their incredible generosity, the Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center was named after them in 2019, along with the Simpson Querrey Institute for Epigenetics and the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics.
