Northwestern University is accepting nominations for its $250,000 Kimberly Prize in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics. The annual prize will be awarded in 2026.
Candidacy for the Kimberly Prize, the largest biochemistry award offered in the U.S., is open to scientists who have made outstanding biochemical research contributions to the molecular basis of life with a direct demonstrated link of their discovery into the clinic that improves human health. Individuals of all nationalities and institutional affiliations are eligible.
The 2026 recipient of the Kimberly Prize will deliver a public lecture and participate in other scholarly activities at Northwestern in the spring.
The inaugural Kimberly Prize was awarded in 2023 to Jennifer Doudna, PhD, for her fundamental biochemical studies providing molecular insight into the function of CRISPR/Cas9 systems as tools for genome editing and the application of her work to biology and medicine. In 2024, the prize was awarded to Craig Crews, PhD, for his pioneering work in the pharmaceutical field of targeted protein degradation.
Most recently, in 2025, the prize was presented to Ron Evans, PhD, for his fundamental discovery and characterization of nuclear hormone receptors and their applications for drug development and human health.
“We have had several exceptional awardees and look forward to accepting nominations for this year for this very important prize,” said Ali Shilatifard, PhD, the Robert Francis Furchgott Professor and chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics. Shilatifard is also director of Feinberg’s Simpson Querrey Institute for Epigenetics.
“The Kimberly Prize in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics recognizes the outstanding scientific contributions of an individual who has elucidated biological mechanisms with transformative implications for human health and welfare,” Shilatifard said.
Nominations can be submitted at feinberg.northwestern.edu/kimberly-prize/.
Nominations will be accepted until September 25, 2025.
Nominating letters should be a maximum of one page and should describe the nominee’s professional experience, accomplishments, qualifications for the award and the nominee’s curriculum vitae. 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 lifelong trustee of Northwestern, was a great friend of the university. In recognition of their incredible generosity, the Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center was named in their honor in 2019, along with the Simpson Querrey Institute for Epigenetics and the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics.
