The award ceremony for the 2025 VinFuture Prize, often referred to as the “Vietnamese version” of the Nobel Prize, was held in Hanoi, Vietnam. The $3 million VinFuture Grand Prize was awarded to Douglas R. Lowy, John T. Schiller, Aimée R. Kreimer, and Maura L. Gillison. All four laureates are affiliated with American institutions, and the first two have previously won the Lasker Award. They were honored for their contributions to the discovery and development of HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccines for the prevention of HPV-induced tumors.
According to official reports, the groundbreaking research on HPV capsid proteins conducted by Dr. Douglas R. Lowy and Dr. John T. Schiller led to the development of highly effective HPV vaccines. These vaccines have prevented millions of cervical cancer cases worldwide, with particularly significant results in developing countries. Furthermore, the single-dose vaccination regimen developed by Dr. Aimée R. Kreimer, which is now recommended by the World Health Organization, has significantly improved vaccine accessibility globally.
In parallel research, Professor Maura L. Gillison and Dr. Aimée R. Kreimer established the link between HPV and head and neck cancer through laboratory and epidemiological studies. This type of cancer is emerging as a growing threat, and HPV vaccination shows promise in containing it. The achievements of these four researchers have already saved millions of lives and are expected to continue reducing the global cancer burden for decades to come.
In addition to the $3 million Grand Prize, three special awards, each worth $500,000, were presented. The VinFuture Special Award for Innovators from Developing Countries was awarded to Professor María Esperanza Martínez-Romero from Mexico, in recognition of her advancements in the field of microbial ecology and symbiotic nitrogen fixation in tropical regions. The VinFuture Special Award for Women Innovators was given to Professor Mary-Claire King from the United States, a recipient of multiple awards, for her discovery of the breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1. Her work laid the foundation for genetic testing, screening programs, and personalized treatment. The VinFuture Special Award for Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Fields was presented to Venkatesan Sundaresan and Imtiyaz Khanday from the United States, Raphaël Mercier from Germany, and Emmanuel Guiderdoni and Delphine Mieulet from France, in recognition of their innovations in developing cloned hybrid crops.
The VinFuture Prize is Vietnam’s first international annual science and technology award, established by Vingroup in 2020. It is also one of the world’s highest-value annual science awards. The award’s vision is to recognize outstanding scientific research, inventions, and technological innovations that positively impact the daily lives of millions of people worldwide, thereby promoting a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous future. Consequently, the VinFuture Prize tends to favor research that has already demonstrated or shows imminent potential for significant real-world impact. Several Nobel laureates have received this award, including the recent Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner, Omar Yaghi.