Vamsi Mootha discusses his research in this FNIH video about his Lurie Prize win.
Vamsi Mootha, HMS professor of systems biology at Massachusetts General Hospital, has been named to receive the 2023 Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences from the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH). The Lurie Prize recognizes outstanding achievements by promising scientists aged 52 or younger.
Mootha is being recognized with co-recipient Navdeep Chandel of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine for discoveries in the science of mitochondria, the powerhouses of cells.
“Doctors Chandel and Mootha embody the innovative spirit of the Lurie Prize as they advance our understanding of the many roles these complex structures play in health and disease,” said Julie Gerberding, president and CEO of the FNIH.
Mootha’s research combines genomics and computation with classic biochemistry and physiology to gain a holistic view of the genes and proteins relevant to mitochondrial function.
Mitochondria contain their own DNA, which encodes 13 mitochondrial proteins. Mootha and his research team have identified the other 99 percent of mitochondrial proteins, which are encoded by DNA in the cell nucleus. The researchers have compiled their findings in a widely used reference tool to help others discover new protein functions and disease genes.
Mootha said he has dedicated much of his research career to treating mitochondria as a system, “trying to define all of their individual components, how they operate together, and uncovering what happens when they are disrupted,” he said.
“I have been lucky to assemble an amazing group of multidisciplinary researchers who work in synergy to impact science and medicine,” he added. “This award really honors the contributions of past and present lab members.”
A jury of biomedical researchers selected Mootha and Chandel for this year’s prize.
The prize includes a $50,000 honorarium for each recipient, supported by a donation from Ann Lurie, president of the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Foundation and president of Lurie Holdings, Inc.
Mootha will receive the prize in October at the FNIH 11th Annual Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C.
