In addition to the Hungarian biologist, the honorees included the American immunologist Drew Wiseman, the German doctors Ugur Şahin and Ozlem Turek, the Canadian biologist Derek Rossi, the British vaccinologist Sarah Gilbert, and the American biochemist Philip Feligner.
“The award-winning researchers are the heroes of one of the most remarkable events in the history of science. Their work is an excellent example of the importance of basic science in protecting health around the world,” the jury said in a statement.
Scientists’ long career in basic research has been praised, leading to innovations that led to the development of effective coronavirus vaccines in record time. In addition, the use of mRNA-based or adenovirus-based vaccines against other diseases may be promising, according to the report.
The seven researchers from 48 candidates from 17 countries won a prize of 50,000 euros (17.8 million Ft) and the world famous statue of Joan Miró., which is traditionally delivered in October in Oviedo in a festive setting in the presence of the Spanish royal family.
Last year, the Science and Technology category award went to four mathematicians, Yves Mayer of France, Ingrid Dubiches of Belgium, Terence Tau of Australia and Emmanuel Candice of France for improving compression of large digital data files, including JPEG image files.
The Princess of Asturias Prize is presented each year in eight categories, with this year’s winners announced so far: Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović, American feminist writer Gloria Steinem, journalist Amartya Sen, Indian economist, philosopher, Theresa Perales Camvid, an international non-governmental organization Government working to educate African women.
Cover Photo: Getty Images
