Recent winners of Yuri Milner’s Breakthrough Prize have made important contributions to the treatment of cancer, cystic fibrosis, and Parkinson’s disease. Meanwhile, other 2024 Breakthrough Prize laureates have received prizes for their deep insights into quantum field theory and differential geometry.
Anne Wojcicki, Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan, and Julia and Yuri Milner created the Breakthrough Prize in 2012 to celebrate the work of leading scientists. Breakthrough prizes range from $50,000 to $3 million. Yuri Milner has also founded other science-focused ventures, including the Breakthrough Junior Challenge and the Breakthrough Initiatives.
The 2024 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Laureates
This year’s Life Sciences laureates have received recognition from the Breakthrough Prize for making substantial progress in the understanding and treatment of major diseases.
Treating The Underlying Cause of Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition that can damage a person’s lungs and digestive system over time. The underlying cause of cystic fibrosis is a dysfunctional protein that can’t let ions in or out of cells.
Fredrick Van Goor, Paul Negulescu, and Sabine Hadida won a 2024 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for inventing four medicines that treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis. The latest of these medicines is a triple combination drug that enables the protein to function properly.
As a result of the treatment, people with cystic fibrosis enjoy improved quality — and length — of life.
Discovering The Genetic Causes of Parkinson’s Disease
Ellen Sidransky, Thomas Gasser, and Andrew Singleton received a Life Sciences prize for discovering the most common genetic causes of Parkinson’s Disease.
Sidransky identified mutations to the gene GBA1 as a genetic risk factor for the disease. GBA1 is a gene which encodes an enzyme that breaks down fatty substances in cells.
Meanwhile, Gasser and Singleton independently proved that mutations in a different gene — LRRK2 — cause increased activity of a protein. Scientists think this increased activity contributes to neuronal damage.
We now know that the lysosome, the cellular organelle that breaks down and recycles cellular components, may play a key role in the cause of Parkinson’s disease.
Targeting Cancer Cells With Genetically Engineered T Cells
Carl June and Michel Sadelain won a Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for their work in oncology.
The duo took T cells, which are crucial players in the body’s immune system, and genetically engineered them with synthetic receptors, also known as chimeric antigen receptors (CARs).
Through this CAR-T therapy engineering, June and Sadelain could instruct T cells to identify the cancer cells of individual patients. These modified T cells have impressive success rates against liquid cancers, including forms of lymphoma, myeloma, and leukaemia.
This treatment has completely eradicated tumours in some patients, with cancerous cells not returning even years later.
Discover the full list of 2024 Breakthrough Prize laureates and their achievements.
About Yuri Milner
Yuri Milner signed the Giving Pledge in 2012, pledging to donate the majority of his wealth to charitable causes. To fulfil his commitment, he has founded several philanthropic projects, including the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, the Breakthrough Initiatives, and Tech For Refugees.
The Breakthrough Initiatives are a series of scientific programmes focused on research areas like interstellar travel and extraterrestrial intelligence. Yuri Milner has pledged more than $200 million to the Breakthrough Initiatives.
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is a global, annual competition for teens. The competition encourages young people to create and submit short, original videos explaining difficult scientific concepts. The Breakthrough Junior Challenge recently announced its 2023 finalists.
In addition to his philanthropic work, Yuri Milner has written a short book about humanity and our place in the Universe: Eureka Manifesto (2021).
