The National Academy of Sciences will honor 20 individuals with awards recognizing their extraordinary scientific achievements in a wide range of fields spanning the physical, biological, social, and medical sciences.

Lewis E. Kay, University of Toronto, will receive the Alexander Hollaender Award in Biophysics for his seminal contributions to expand understanding of protein folding, dynamics, and function. 

Stuart D. Bale, University of California, Berkeley, will receive the Arctowski Medal for fundamental contributions to our understanding of the physics of the solar corona and solar wind. 

Adam K. Leroy, The Ohio State University, will receive the Henry Draper Medal for his pathbreaking efforts to advance understanding of the interstellar medium. 

Jennifer A. Lewis, Harvard University, will receive the James Prize in Science and Technology Integration for pioneering contributions to the programmable assembly of soft functional, structural, and biological materials. 

Nima Anari, Stanford University, Kuikui Liu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Shayan Oveis Gharan and Cynthia Vinzant, University of Washington, will receive the Michael and Sheila Held Prize for breakthrough work advancing the theory of matroids and mixing rates of Markov chains. 

Michael E. Jung, University of California, Los Angeles, will receive the NAS Award for Chemistry in Service to Society for his key contributions to synthetic medicinal chemistry and drug discovery. 

Xiaodong Xu, University of Washington, will receive the NAS Award for Scientific Discovery for his experimental observation of the fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect. 

Peter G. Wolynes, Rice University, will receive the NAS Award in Chemical Sciences for breakthrough contributions that enhance our understanding of protein structure dynamics and function. 

John D. Sutherland, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, will receive the NAS Award in Early Earth and Life Studies — Stanley Miller Medal for advancing understanding of the chemical origins of microbiology. 

Eric Skaar, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, will receive the NAS Award in Molecular Biology for pioneering work at the intersection of nutrition and infectious diseases. 

Liqun Luo, Stanford University, will receive the NAS Award in the Neurosciences for advancing understanding of the mechanisms of neural development, neuronal diversity, and brain wiring. 

Hans Coetzee, Kansas State University, will receive the NAS Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences for transformative research into safe and cost-effective pain relief solutions for livestock. 

Anne Churchland, University of California, Los Angeles, will receive the Pradel Research Award for expanding understanding of the neural circuits that support decision-making. 

Michael M. Yartsev, University of California, Berkeley and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, will receive the Richard Lounsbery Award for pivotal contributions advancing our understanding of systems neuroscience. 

Rotem Sorek, Weizmann Institute of Science, will receive the Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology for groundbreaking discoveries on the immune system of bacteria. 

Evelina Fedorenko, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Nicholas Turk-Browne, Yale University, will each receive a Troland Research Award. With these awards, the Academy recognizes Fedorenko for groundbreaking contributions and insights into the language network in the human brain, and Turk-Browne for pioneering contributions advancing our understanding of learning and memory in the human brain. 

Mary-Claire King, University of Washington in Seattle, will receive the NAS Public Welfare Medal for her pioneering genetic research and its transformative application to human rights. Her groundbreaking use of mitochondrial DNA reunited families who were victims of Argentina’s “Dirty War” during the 1970s and 1980s, advanced forensic genetics worldwide, and illustrated the power of science in promoting justice and public welfare. The medal is the Academy’s most prestigious award, established in 1914 and presented annually to honor extraordinary use of science for the public good.

“Mary-Claire King’s groundbreaking contributions to genetics have not only advanced our scientific understanding but have also had a profound impact on human rights and social justice,” said National Academy of Sciences Home Secretary Nancy Andrews. “Her pioneering use of mitochondrial DNA to reunite families torn apart by violence and repression exemplifies the power of science to serve humanity.”

“Through her visionary application of genetics, Mary-Claire King has transformed the way science can be used to seek justice and reunite families,” said National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt. “Her work stands as a testament to the profound ways in which scientific discovery can address some of the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges.”