Svetlana Mojsov (born December 8, 1947 in Skopje, Yugoslavia, now Macedonia) is a Macedonian-American biochemist celebrated for her pioneering discovery and characterization of the gut hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP‑1), whose identification set the stage for an entirely new class of diabetes and obesity medications. After completing a B.S. in physical chemistry at the University of Belgrade in 1971, Mojsov moved to New York in 1972 to join the laboratory of Nobel laureate R. Bruce Merrifield at Rockefeller University, where she embraced the art of solid-phase peptide synthesis and, in 1978, became the first person to synthesize crystalline glucagon reliably—an achievement long deemed unattainable by her peers.
Following her doctorate, Mojsov remained at Rockefeller as a postdoctoral and research associate, refining synthetic chemistry techniques and delving into peptide regulation. Then in 1983 she relocated to Boston to lead the Howard Hughes Medical Institute peptide synthesis facility at Massachusetts General Hospital and hold an Instructor in Medicine appointment at Harvard Medical School. It was here that her transformative contribution began: scrutinizing the proglucagon gene sequence—initially decoded in anglerfish and rodent research—Mojsov intuitively recognized the biologically active core of GLP‑1: the 31 amino acid fragment now known as GLP‑1 (7–37). She chemically synthesized this fragment, developed antibodies specific to it, and in collaboration with endocrinologist Joel Habener and peptide physiologist Gordon Weir demonstrated in rats—and later in human studies—that GLP‑1 potently stimulates pancreatic insulin secretion, establishing the peptide’s role as one of the central incretins in glucose homeostasis.
Returning to Rockefeller University in the 1990s, where by 2002 she held the title Research Associate Professor, Mojsov continued her research into peptide biology and its evolutionary dimensions. One of her notable contributions in this phase was demonstrating that in teleost fish, GLP‑1 does not function via a dedicated GLP‑1 receptor as in mammals, but through a receptor that also binds glucagon. Her findings offered significant insights into how metabolic regulation has diverged across vertebrate species.
For decades, Mojsov’s role remained overshadowed in the scientific narrative of incretin and GLP‑1 biology. Publications and award committees frequently credited programmers such as Habener, Drucker, and Holst. Prompted by extensive coverage in “Science”, “Nature”, “STAT News”, and “El País” during 2023, she came into sharp public focus as a scientist whose contributions had been marginalized, particularly as a woman in a male-dominated field. She actively requested corrections in reviews and journal articles that omitted her role—editorial changes followed in leading journals such as ”Nature”, “Cell”, and “The New York Times” .
Recognition of her rightful place in GLP‑1 science accelerated rapidly. In 2023 she received the VinFuture Prize and was listed among Nature's 10 most influential scientists shaping the field that year. In February 2024 she was awarded the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize—dedicated to outstanding women scientists—on the Rockefeller campus; her honorarium was pledged to Rockefeller’s Women & Science Initiative. In April, Time magazine included her in its 2024 list of the 100 Most Influential People for her pivotal contributions to medicine, along with Habener and Drucker. September 2024 brought the prestigious Lasker–DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award—often dubbed “America’s Nobel”—shared with Joel Habener and Lotte Bjerre Knudsen of Novo Nordisk, for her role in discovering the GLP‑1 hormone and enabling the creation of GLP‑1 agonist therapies that have transformed diabetes and obesity care worldwide.
Additional honors followed swiftly: in 2024 she shared the Princess of Asturias Award in Technical and Scientific Research, the Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science, and the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biology and Biomedicine; in 2025 she received the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, the Warren Triennial Prize, election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the Distinguished Medical Science Award from the National Library of Medicine.
Colleagues across institutions describe Mojsov as reserved and intensely focused on the rigor of her science rather than public acclaim. One peptide chemist noted that although her later prominence was less than some of her male peers, the overlap of foundational discoveries clearly aligned with her contributions. She consciously declined to lead her own large laboratory and often helped junior collaborators advance while staying out of the limelight—choices driven by personal balance rather than prestige—and that shaped a career defined by integrity and persistence.
Mojsov frequently reflects on her motivations: she entered science driven by curiosity, not profit, and has stated that financial reward was never her goal. Although she did gain limited royalties briefly, she took satisfaction in seeing her scientific predictions realized over decades and in knowing that millions of lives have benefitted from medicines rooted in her early discoveries.
Today, the story of Svetlana Mojsov stands as a testament to how critical insight, technical skill, and steadfast advocacy can reshape scientific history. Her efforts have helped correct the record in publications and policy, raising broader awareness of how scientific credit is assigned—and why equity in recognition matters. Mojsov is the daughter of Lazar Mojsov, a distinguished Macedonian diplomat in ex-Yugoslavia, and former President of the UN General Assembly, and is married to immunologist Michel C. Nussenzweig.
Following her doctorate, Mojsov remained at Rockefeller as a postdoctoral and research associate, refining synthetic chemistry techniques and delving into peptide regulation. Then in 1983 she relocated to Boston to lead the Howard Hughes Medical Institute peptide synthesis facility at Massachusetts General Hospital and hold an Instructor in Medicine appointment at Harvard Medical School. It was here that her transformative contribution began: scrutinizing the proglucagon gene sequence—initially decoded in anglerfish and rodent research—Mojsov intuitively recognized the biologically active core of GLP‑1: the 31 amino acid fragment now known as GLP‑1 (7–37). She chemically synthesized this fragment, developed antibodies specific to it, and in collaboration with endocrinologist Joel Habener and peptide physiologist Gordon Weir demonstrated in rats—and later in human studies—that GLP‑1 potently stimulates pancreatic insulin secretion, establishing the peptide’s role as one of the central incretins in glucose homeostasis.
Returning to Rockefeller University in the 1990s, where by 2002 she held the title Research Associate Professor, Mojsov continued her research into peptide biology and its evolutionary dimensions. One of her notable contributions in this phase was demonstrating that in teleost fish, GLP‑1 does not function via a dedicated GLP‑1 receptor as in mammals, but through a receptor that also binds glucagon. Her findings offered significant insights into how metabolic regulation has diverged across vertebrate species.
For decades, Mojsov’s role remained overshadowed in the scientific narrative of incretin and GLP‑1 biology. Publications and award committees frequently credited programmers such as Habener, Drucker, and Holst. Prompted by extensive coverage in “Science”, “Nature”, “STAT News”, and “El País” during 2023, she came into sharp public focus as a scientist whose contributions had been marginalized, particularly as a woman in a male-dominated field. She actively requested corrections in reviews and journal articles that omitted her role—editorial changes followed in leading journals such as ”Nature”, “Cell”, and “The New York Times” .
Recognition of her rightful place in GLP‑1 science accelerated rapidly. In 2023 she received the VinFuture Prize and was listed among Nature's 10 most influential scientists shaping the field that year. In February 2024 she was awarded the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize—dedicated to outstanding women scientists—on the Rockefeller campus; her honorarium was pledged to Rockefeller’s Women & Science Initiative. In April, Time magazine included her in its 2024 list of the 100 Most Influential People for her pivotal contributions to medicine, along with Habener and Drucker. September 2024 brought the prestigious Lasker–DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award—often dubbed “America’s Nobel”—shared with Joel Habener and Lotte Bjerre Knudsen of Novo Nordisk, for her role in discovering the GLP‑1 hormone and enabling the creation of GLP‑1 agonist therapies that have transformed diabetes and obesity care worldwide.
Additional honors followed swiftly: in 2024 she shared the Princess of Asturias Award in Technical and Scientific Research, the Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science, and the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biology and Biomedicine; in 2025 she received the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, the Warren Triennial Prize, election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the Distinguished Medical Science Award from the National Library of Medicine.
Colleagues across institutions describe Mojsov as reserved and intensely focused on the rigor of her science rather than public acclaim. One peptide chemist noted that although her later prominence was less than some of her male peers, the overlap of foundational discoveries clearly aligned with her contributions. She consciously declined to lead her own large laboratory and often helped junior collaborators advance while staying out of the limelight—choices driven by personal balance rather than prestige—and that shaped a career defined by integrity and persistence.
Mojsov frequently reflects on her motivations: she entered science driven by curiosity, not profit, and has stated that financial reward was never her goal. Although she did gain limited royalties briefly, she took satisfaction in seeing her scientific predictions realized over decades and in knowing that millions of lives have benefitted from medicines rooted in her early discoveries.
Today, the story of Svetlana Mojsov stands as a testament to how critical insight, technical skill, and steadfast advocacy can reshape scientific history. Her efforts have helped correct the record in publications and policy, raising broader awareness of how scientific credit is assigned—and why equity in recognition matters. Mojsov is the daughter of Lazar Mojsov, a distinguished Macedonian diplomat in ex-Yugoslavia, and former President of the UN General Assembly, and is married to immunologist Michel C. Nussenzweig.
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