Professor Chad Mirkin awarded UNESCO International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences

Northwestern professor Chad Mirkin was awarded the 2022 UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences for his work with spherical nucleic acids (SNAs). The honor is granted to researchers “who have made significant efforts through scientific research towards improving the quality of human life.”

“This is a great honor and a tribute to the many talented Northwestern students and postdoctoral fellows who have contributed to this research over the last three decades,” said Mirkin, the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry at Weinberg College and founder of the International Institute for Nanotechnology.

According to the UNESCO awards committee, Mirkin’s breakthroughs in SNA research helped “revolutionary advances in diagnostics and precision medicine.”

SNAs are tiny particles capable of detecting diseases when used in conjunction with drugs and specialized medical technology.  Mirkin created the Verigene system n the year 2000 — a structure that manipulates these strands of DNA or RNA to detect deadly diseases in patients. This technology has become the foundation for hundreds of commercial products and has helped put Northwestern at the forefront of nano-medical research. 

Learn more about Mirkin’s achievements in the article, “Chad Mirkin wins UNESCO international prize for life sciences.”