NAS Members Among Breakthrough Prize’s 2026 Laureates

Four NAS members have been announced as 2026 Breakthrough Prize Laureates.

Jean Bennett and Katherine High have been awarded the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences alongside Albert Maguire “for developing a therapy for inherited retinal degeneration that became the first FDA-approved gene therapy for a genetic disease.”

Stuart Orkin has also been recognized with a Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences with Swee Lay Thein “for elucidating the mechanism driving the switch from fetal to adult hemoglobin and validating it as a therapeutic target for sickle-cell disease and beta-thalassemia.”

David Gross will receive the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics “for a lifetime of groundbreaking contributions to theoretical physics, from the strong force to string theory, and for tireless advocacy for basic science worldwide.”

The Breakthrough Prize recognizes the world’s top scientists working in the fundamental sciences. Each prize is $3 million and presented in the fields of Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics and Mathematics. In addition, the New Horizons in Physics and Mathematics Prizes and the Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize are awarded to early-career researchers.

Laureates are honored at an annual ceremony broadcast globally that celebrates their achievements and inspires the next generation of scientists. Selection Committees composed of previous Breakthrough Prize laureates in each field choose the winners.

Read the official announcement here.