Breakthrough Prize 2025: Honouring the Frontiers of Modern Science

Dubbed the “Oscars of Science”, the 2025 Breakthrough Prizes celebrated some of the world’s most brilliant minds across Physics, Life Sciences, and Mathematics. Established in 2013 by tech luminaries such as Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, the awards aim to elevate the status of scientists in society, reward extraordinary achievements, and inspire the next generation of innovators. The 11th edition of the ceremony took place on April 5, 2025, in Santa Monica, California, with a star-studded audience including Hollywood celebrities and tech leaders.

Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

1. Discovery of Weight-loss Drugs (Ozempic & Wegovy)

• Awardees: Daniel J. Drucker, Joel Habener, Jens Juul Holst, Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, Svetlana Mojsov
• Contribution: Discovered and characterized the hormone GLP-1
• Significance: Enabled the creation of widely used drugs for treating diabetes and obesity

2. Multiple Sclerosis Research

• Awardees: Alberto Ascherio and Stephen L. Hauser
• Contribution: Identified B-cells as a key factor in MS and linked it to Epstein-Barr virus
• Significance: Paved the way for targeted MS treatments

3. Gene-editing Technology

• Awardee: David R. Liu
• Contribution: Developed base editing and prime editing tools
• Significance: Enabled precise DNA editing without cutting the double helix

Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

• Awarded to: 13,508 scientists across four CERN LHC collaborations – ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, LHCb
• Focus: Detailed study of the Higgs boson, strong nuclear forces, and fundamental particles

Notable Discoveries

• Properties of Higgs boson and symmetry-breaking mechanism
• Discovery of new strongly interacting particles
• Explorations of nature under extreme conditions

Prize Distribution

• $1 million each to ATLAS and CMS
• $500,000 each to ALICE and LHCb
• Use of Funds: Grants for doctoral students via CERN & Society Foundation

Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics

• Awardee: Dennis Gaitsgory
• Achievement: Proved the geometric Langlands conjecture
• Significance: Solved a foundational challenge spanning multiple mathematical disciplines
• Method: Developed new tools in derived algebraic geometry over 30 years of research

Additional Awards

New Horizons Prizes

• 6 prizes of $100,000 each
• Honoured 8 early-career mathematicians and physicists

Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prizes

• 3 awards of $50,000 each
• Given to women PhD mathematicians

Summary/Static	Details
Why in the news?	Breakthrough Prize 2025: Honouring the Frontiers of Modern Science
Event	11th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony, held on April 5, 2025, in Santa Monica, California.
Known As	Dubbed the “Oscars of Science”.
Founders	Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan, Sergey Brin, Anne Wojcicki, Yuri Milner, and Julia Milner.
Total Prizes	Six prizes of $3 million each in Life Sciences, Mathematics, and Fundamental Physics.
Life Sciences – Weight-loss	Drugs Daniel J. Drucker, Joel Habener, Jens Juul Holst, Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, Svetlana Mojsov – GLP-1 hormone research aiding in Ozempic & Wegovy.
Life Sciences – MS Treatment	Alberto Ascherio, Stephen L. Hauser – Identified B-cells’ role in MS and linked Epstein-Barr virus to the disease.
Life Sciences – Gene Editing	David R Liu – Developed base editing and prime editing technologies that modify DNA without cutting the double helix.
Fundamental Physics	Awarded to CERN’s four collaborations: ATLAS, CMS, ALICE, LHCb – for work on Higgs boson, new particles, and testing fundamental theories.
Total Recipients (Physics)	13,508 physicists who co-authored LHC Run-2 data-based publications (2015–2024).
Prize Distribution (Physics)	ATLAS & CMS: $1M each; ALICE & LHCb: $500K each – donated to CERN & Society Foundation for doctoral grants.
Mathematics Prize	Dennis Gaitsgory – For proving the geometric Langlands conjecture using derived algebraic geometry.
Other Awards 6 New Horizons	Prizes ($100K each) for early-career researchers, and 3 Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prizes ($50K each) to women PhD mathematicians.