PHILADELPHIA — (Oct. 9, 2025) — The Wistar Institute honors Svetlana Mosjov, Ph.D., as the 2025 Helen Dean King Award recipient. Dr. Mojsov, research associate professor at the Rockefeller University, is this year’s Helen Dean King Award winner and will speak at the annual event at noon (ET) at The Wistar Institute on October 21, 2025.
Wistar’s Helen Dean King Award highlights the fundamental role women researchers play in early-stage discovery and biomedical research. Each year, Wistar recognizes women in science as a tribute to geneticist Dr. Helen Dean King, the first woman hired as a Wistar scientist who worked at the Institute from 1909 to 1950. Dr. King’s contributions to biomedical research paved the way for women worldwide to create their own scientific legacy.
Dr. Mojsov is a biochemist with expertise in the chemical synthesis of peptides (short chains of amino acids, like smaller versions of proteins). Peptides are studied for their beneficial effects on the body and therapeutic potential. Peptides and small proteins have diverse functions that regulate bodily processes.
Dr. Mojsov’s research led to groundbreaking discoveries about the hormone GLP-1, which is released by the gut in response to eating a meal. It is secreted to stimulate insulin release from the pancreas and regulates blood sugar. Dr. Mojsov is also a co-inventor on a series of patents for GLP-1 that led to blockbuster treatments for diabetes, obesity and weight loss including Ozempic, Weygovy and others.
“Every scientist’s dream is to make discoveries that will truly impact knowledge. The even bigger dream is that our discoveries also positively contribute to human health. Both reasons are why we celebrate Dr. Svetlana Mojsov as the 2025 Helen Dean King awardee,” said Maureen Murphy, Ph.D., deputy director of the Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center and Ira Brind Professor and program leader of Wistar’s Molecular & Cellular Oncogenesis Program. “Type-2 diabetes and obesity are very common disorders around the world and affect the health of so many people. Her groundbreaking discovery has led to a new class of wonder drugs, though it may also have therapeutic potential against Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.”
Dr. Mojsov received a B.S. in physical chemistry from Belgrade University and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Rockefeller University. She received the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award in 2024, the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences in 2025 and the Distinguished Medical Science Award, National Library of Medicine, in 2025 to name a few.
The Helen Dean King Award Ceremony is a hybrid event. Tickets for the online ceremony are available at no charge, but registration is required. Registration online here.
ABOUT THE WISTAR INSTITUTE:
The Wistar Institute is the nation’s first independent nonprofit institution devoted exclusively to foundational biomedical research and training. Since 1972, the Institute has held National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center status. Through a culture and commitment to biomedical collaboration and innovation, Wistar science leads to breakthrough early-stage discoveries and life science sector start-ups. Wistar scientists are dedicated to solving some of the world’s most challenging problems in the field of cancer and immunology, advancing human health through early-stage discovery and training the next generation of biomedical researchers. wistar.org
