Awards & Winners

Albert Lasker Special Achievement Award

Lasker Award

The Albert Lasker Special Achievement Award is one of the four Lasker Awards given by the Lasker Foundation for medical research in the United States. The first award was given in 1994; it is not awarded every year. In 2008, the award was renamed the Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science in honor of Daniel E. Koshland, Jr.. Recipients of the Special Achievement Award are: 1994: Maclyn McCarty 1996: Paul Zamecnik 1997: Victor A. McKusick 1998: Daniel E. Koshland, Jr. 1999: Seymour S. Kety 2000: Sydney Brenner 2002: James E. Darnell 2004: Matthew Meselson 2006: Joseph G. Gall 2008: Stanley Falkow 2010: David Weatherall 2012: Donald D. Brown and Tom Maniatis
Date Established : 1994

Check all the winners of Albert Lasker Special Achievement Award presented under Lasker Award since 1994 .


Mary-Claire King

(For bold, imaginative, and diverse contributions to medical science and human rights \u2014 she discovered the BRCA1 gene locus that causes hereditary breast cancer and deployed DNA strategies that reunite missing persons or their remains with their families.)

Donald D. Brown, Tom Maniatis

(For exceptional leadership and citizenship in biomedical science \u2014 exemplified by fundamental discoveries concerning the nature of genes; by selfless commitment to young scientists; and by disseminating revolutionary technologies to the scientific community.)

David Weatherall

(For 50 years of international statesmanship in biomedical science\u2014exemplified by discoveries concerning genetic diseases of the blood and for leadership in improving clinical care for thousands of children with thalassemia throughout the developing world.)

Stanley Falkow

(For a 51-year career as one of the great microbe hunters of all time \u2014 he discovered the molecular nature of antibiotic resistance, revolutionized the way we think about how pathogens cause disease, and mentored more than 100 students, many of whom are now distinguished leaders in the fields of microbiology and infectious diseases. )

Joseph G. Gall

(For a distinguished 57-year career\u2014as a founder of modern cell biology and the field of chromosome structure and function; bold experimentalist; inventor of in situ hybridization; and early champion of women in science. )

Matthew Meselson

(For a lifetime career that combines penetrating discovery in molecular biology with creative leadership in the public policy of chemical and biological weapons.)

James E. Darnell

(For an exceptional career in biomedical science during which he opened two fields in biology \u2014 RNA processing and cytokine signaling \u2014 and fostered the development of many creative scientists.)

Sydney Brenner

(For 50 years of brilliant creativity in biomedical science\u2014exemplified by his legendary work on the genetic code; his daring introduction of the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans as a system for tracing the birth and death of every cell in a living animal; his rational voice in the debate on recombinant DNA; and his trenchant wit.)

Seymour S. Kety

(For a lifetime of contributions to neuroscience \u2014 including discovery of a method for measuring cerebral blood flow that led to current brain imaging techniques, adoptive studies in schizophrenia that established its genetic origin, and visionary leadership in mental health that ushered psychiatry into the molecular era.)

Daniel E. Koshland, Jr.

(For a lifetime career devoted to elevating science to its highest level\u2014exemplified by accomplishments on diverse fronts\u2014as a visionary biochemist, tireless institution builder, and eloquent public communicator.)

Victor A. McKusick

(For a lifetime career as founder of the discipline of clinical genetics.)

Paul Zamecnik

(For brilliant and original science that revolutionized biochemistry and spawned new avenues of scientific inquiry.)

Maclyn McCarty

(For his seminal and historic investigation which revealed that DNA is the chemical substance of heredity and for ushering in a new era of contemporary genetics.)