The Lasker Awards are among the most respected science prizes in the world. Since 1945, the Awards Program has recognized the contributions of scientists, physicians, and public servants who have made major advances in the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure, and prevention of human disease. Lasker Awards often presage future recognition by the Nobel committee, so they have become popularly known as "America's Nobels." Eighty-three Lasker laureates have received the Nobel Prize, including 31 in the last two decades.


The Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award honors scientists whose fundamental investigations have provided techniques, information, or concepts contributing to the elimination of major causes of disability and death.

The Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award honors investigators whose contributions have improved the clinical treatment of patients.

The Lasker~Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science honors scientists whose contributions to research are of unique magnitude and have immeasurable influence on the course of science, health, or medicine, and whose professional careers have engendered within the biomedical community the deepest feelings of awe and respect.

The Lasker~Bloomberg Public Service Award honors men and women who have helped make possible the federal legislation and funding that supports research, and who have created public communication, public health, and advocacy programs of major importance.

More information at The Lasker Foundation website

Academia Europaea Lasker Award Winners#

• 2023 Demis Hassabis Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award (jointly with John M. Jumper), for "Creating AlphaFold, artificial intelligence program for protein structure prediction"

• 2023 Piet Borst Lasker~Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science, for "A scientific career spanning 50 years, mentorship, and leadership"

• 2021 Dieter Oesterhelt Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award (jointly with Karl Deisseroth and Peter Hegemann), For the discovery of light-sensitive microbial proteins that can activate or silence individual brain cells which was integral in developing optogenetics – a revolutionary technique for neuroscience

• 2021 Katalin Karikó Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award (jointly with Drew Weissman), For the discovery of a new therapeutic technology based on the modification of messenger RNA – enabling rapid development of highly effective Covid-19 vaccines

• 2021 David Baltimore Lasker~Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science, As one of the premier biomedical scientists of the last five decades, he is renowned for the breadth and beauty of his discoveries in virology, immunology, and cancer; for his academic leadership; for his mentorship of prominent scientists; and for his influence as a public advocate for science

• 2019 Axel Ullrich Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award (jointly with Michael Shepard, Dennis J. Slamon), For their invention of Herceptin, the first monoclonal antibody that blocks HER2, a cancer-causing protein, and for its development as a life-saving therapy for women with breast cancer.

• 2018 Joan Argetsinger Steitz, Lasker~Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science, For four decades of leadership in biomedical science – exemplified by pioneering discoveries in RNA biology, generous mentorship of budding scientists, and vigorous and passionate support of women in science.

• 2016: Bruce M. Alberts Lasker~Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science, For fundamental discoveries in DNA replication and protein biochemistry; for visionary leadership in directing national and international scientific organizations to better people’s lives; and for passionate dedication to improving education in science and mathematics.

• 2012: Roy Calne, Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, for the development of liver transplantation, which has restored normal life to thousands of patients with end-stage liver disease.

• 2010: David Weatherall, Lasker~Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science, for 50 years of international statesmanship in biomedical science—exemplified by discoveries concerning genetic diseases of the blood and for leadership in improving clinical care for thousands of children with thalassemia throughout the developing world.

• 2009: John Gurdon, for discoveries concerning nuclear reprogramming, the process that instructs specialized adult cells to form early stem cells — creating the potential to become any type of mature cell for experimental or therapeutic purposes.

• 2008: David Baulcombe, for discoveries that revealed an unanticipated world of tiny RNAs that regulate gene function in plants and animals.

• 2005: Alec Jeffreys, For development of two powerful technologies—Southern hybridization and DNA fingerprinting—that together revolutionized human genetics and forensic diagnostics.

• 2004: Pierre Chambon, for the discovery of the superfamily of nuclear hormone receptors and elucidation of a unifying mechanism that regulates embryonic development and diverse metabolic pathways.

• James Rothman (jointly with Randy Schekman), Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, "for discoveries revealing the universal molecular machinery that orchestrates the budding and fusion of membrane vesicles — a process essential to organelle formation, nutrient uptake, and secretion of hormones and neurotransmitters"

• 2001: Martin Evans (jointly with Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies), Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, "for the development of a powerful technology for manipulating the mouse genome with exquisite precision, which allows the creation of animal models of human disease"

• 2001: Robert Edwards, Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award, "for the development of in vitro fertilization, a technological advance that has revolutionized the treatment of human infertility"

• 2000: Sydney Brenner, Albert Lasker Special Achievement Award in Medical Science "for 50 years of brilliant creativity in biomedical science — exemplified by his legendary work on the genetic code; his daring introduction of the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans as a system for tracing the birth and death of every cell in a living animal; his rational voice in the debate on recombinant DNA; and his trenchant wit"

• 2000: Aaron J. Ciechanover and Alexander Varshavsky (jointly with Avram Hershko), Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, "for the discovery and recognition of the broad significance of the ubiquitin system of regulated protein degradation, a fundamental process that influences vital cellular events, including the cell cycle, malignant transformation, and responses to inflammation and immunity"

• 1998: Paul Nurse (jointly with Lee Hartwell and Yoshio Masui), Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, "for pioneering genetic and molecular studies that revealed the universal machinery for regulating cell division in all eukaryotic organisms, from yeasts to frogs to humans"

• 1995: Rolf M. Zinkernagel (jointly with Peter C. Doherty, Jack L. Strominger, Emil R. Unanue and Don C. Wiley), Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, "for the discovery of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) restriction of T-cell recognition"

• 1993: Günter Blobel, Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, "for landmark discoveries concerning the processes by which intercellular proteins are targeted across cell membranes"

• 1991: Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard (jointly with Edward B. Lewis), Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, "for fundamental research on the Bithorax Complex, which established the role of homeotic genes in the development of cell patterns and provided a foundation for current studies of embryonic development"

• 1989: Etienne Baulieu, Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award, "for developing RU486, the first safe and effective contragestive medication"

• 1989: Michael Berridge (jointly with Alfred G. Gilman, Edwin G. Krebs, Yasutomi Nishizuka), Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, "for research revealing how IP3 governs the intracellular level of calcium and orchestrates the major activities of the cell"

• 1988: Thomas R. Cech, Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, "for revolutionary research revealing the enzymatic role of RNA, opening a new universe in molecular biology"

• 1986: Luc Montagnier (jointly with Myron Essex and Robert C. Gallo), Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award, "for contributions concerning the impact of retroviral infection on the human immune system"

• 1986: Rita Levi-Montalcini (jointly with Stanley Cohen), Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, "for the original concept that cell growth is governed by protein molecules, and for the discovery of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF)"

• 1982: J. Michael Bishop (jointly with Raymond L. Erikson, Hidesaburo Hanafusa, Harold E. Varmus and Robert C. Gallo), Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award "for the discovery that oncogenes are present in normal cells"

• 1977: Bengt Samuelsson (jointly with K. Sune D. Bergström and John R. Vane), Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, "for isolating and elucidating prostaglandins"

• 1976: James Black (jointly with Raymond P. Ahlquist), Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award, "for advancing the concept of alpha and beta adrenergic receptors, which opened the door to the development of propranolol"

• 1971: Sydney Brenner (jointly with Seymour Benzer and Charles Yanofsky), Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, "for their brilliant contributions to molecular genetics"

• 1960: James Watson (jointly with M.H.F. Wilkins and Francis Crick), Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, "for revealing the structure of the DNA molecule"