Liu wins NIH foundation prize for gene editing discoveries

Molecular biologist David Liu has won the newly established Montrone-Seigel Prize for Biological Sciences from the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health for his breakthrough discoveries in gene editing.

“I’m deeply honored by this recognition of the tireless efforts and remarkable talents of the students, postdocs and collaborators who have contributed to our work,” said Liu.

The award recognizes the advances made by Liu and his team in developing base editing and prime editing, techniques that can be used to fix disease-causing mutations in DNA. These advances already are being used in more than 20 clinical trials for genetic diseases including cancer, blood disorders, and metabolic disorders. The team also has developed methods to speed up the discovery of new drugs and therapeutic proteins.

The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) is a nonprofit organization established by Congress that fosters partnerships between the NIH, academia, life science companies, and patient advocacy groups.

The Montrone-Seigel Prize recognizes outstanding scientists aged 52 or younger who have made breakthroughs that advance human health. The award includes a $100,000 honorarium. Replacing the former Lurie Prize, the new award was established by Fred Seigel and Paul Montrone, both members of the FNIH Board of Directors.

Siegel said: “Dr. Liu’s exceptional, innovative work in gene editing technologies has the potential to transform lives. This award is an opportunity to recognize his contributions to scientific discoveries and support further biomedical breakthroughs.”

Liu will be presented with the award at the annual FNIH awards ceremony on Oct. 22 in Washington, D.C.

Liu graduated from Harvard College in 1994 and earned his Ph.D. from Berkeley. He now serves as the Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences, the Richard Merkin Professor and director of the Merkin Institute of Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, vice chair of the faculty at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Earlier this year, he won the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in the Life Sciences.

Liu added: “I’m especially grateful to Paul Montrone and Fred Seigel for establishing this award, which I hope will serve as a reminder of the impact of biomedical research at a critical time in our country when science has never offered so much promise to save and improve lives.”