Svetlana Mojsov

Svetlana Mojsov
Светлана Мојсов
Born	8 December 1947 Skopje, SR Macedonia. SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Rockefeller University
Spouse	Michel C. Nussenzweig
Father	Lazar Mojsov
Awards	2023 VinFuture 2023 Nature's 10 2023 Time100 Health 2024 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize 2024 Time 100 Most Influential People 2024 Princess of Asturias Awards 2024 Tang Prize - Biopharmaceutical Science 2024 Lasker Award 2024 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards - Biology and Biomedicine 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences 2025 Warren Triennial Prize
Scientific career
Fields	Biochemistry, Peptide synthesis
Institutions	Massachusetts General Hospital Rockefeller University
Thesis	Studies on solid-phase peptide synthesis: the synthesis of glucagon  (1978)

Svetlana Mojsov is a Yugoslav-born Macedonian American chemist who is a research associate professor at Rockefeller University. Her research considers peptide synthesis. She discovered the glucagon-like peptide-1 and uncovered its role in glucose metabolism and the secretion of insulin. Her breakthroughs were transformed by Novo Nordisk into therapeutic agents against diabetes and obesity.

Early life and education

Mojsov was born in Skopje, SR Macedonia, SFR Yugoslavia, and did her undergraduate degree in physical chemistry in Belgrade. She joined the graduate program at the Rockefeller University in 1972, where she worked alongside Robert Bruce Merrifield (1984 Nobel Prize in Chemistry) on the synthesis of peptides. ^[1] Specifically, Mojsov focused on the synthesis of glucagon, a hormone which is released by the pancreas. At the time it was proposed that glucagon might help to treat Type 2 diabetes.^{[ citation needed ]}

Research and career

In the 1980s, Mojsov moved to the Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was made head of a peptide synthesis facility. She arrived at MGH shortly after Joel Habener had cloned proglucagon by studying anglerfish found in Boston Harbor. Mojsov worked on the identification of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a hormone generated by the gut that triggers the release of insulin. The amino acid sequence of GLP-1 was similar to a gastric inhibitory peptide, an incretin. To try to identify whether a specific fragment of GLP-1 was an incretin, Mojsov synthesized an incretin-antibody and developed ways to track its presence. Specifically, Mojsov identified that a stretch of 31 amino acids in the GLP-1 was an incretin. ^{[2] [3]} Together with Gordon Weir at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston and Habener, Mojsov showed that small quantities of lab-synthesized GLP-1 could trigger insulin. ^{[4] [5]}

In the 1990s, Mojsov returned to New York City, where she went back to Rockefeller University and the laboratory of Ralph M. Steinman (2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine). In 1992, the group at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) using GLP-1 synthesized by Mojsov tested the GLP-1 in humans. ^[6] Drugs that emulate the action of GLP1 have been developed into treatments for obesity and diabetes by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. ^[7] Eventually, the GLP-1 derivatives Mojsov synthesized were patented as peptides able to prompt the release of insulin, but with Joel Habener as the sole-creator. Mojsov fought to have her name included in patents, with MGH eventually agreeing to amend four patents to include her name and she received her one-third of drug royalties for one year. ^[8] She has continued to speak up for credit after her collaborators received various awards as new versions of GLP-1 have been approved and grown popular. ^{[8] [9]}

Prizes and awards

• 2023: VinFuture, Innovators with Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Fields – Jens Juul Holst, Joel Francis Habener, Daniel Joshua Drucker and Svetlana Mojsov ^[10]
• 2023: Nature 10 most influential people who shaped science ^[11]
• 2024: Pearl Meister GreengardPrize by the Rockefeller University ^{[12] [13]}
• 2024: Time 100 Most Influential People, Pioneers section ^[14]
• 2024: Princess of Asturias Awards , Technical and Scientific Research – Daniel J. Drucker, Jeffrey M. Friedman, Joel F. Habener, Jens Juul Holst and Svetlana Mojsov ^[15]
• 2024: Tang Prize , Biopharmaceutical Science – Joel F. Habener, Svetlana Mojsov and Jens Juul Holst ^[16]
• 2024: Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award – Joel Habener, Svetlana Mojsov and Lotte Bjerre Knudsen ^{[17] [18]}
• 2024: BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards - Biology and Biomedicne - Daniel Joshua Drucker, Joel Habener, Jens Juul Holst and Svetlana Mojsov ^[19]
• 2025: Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences - Daniel J. Drucker, Joel Habener, Jens Juul Holst, Lotte Bjerre Knudsen and Svetlana Mojsov; Alberto Ascherio and Stephen L. Hauser; and David R. Liu ^[20]
• 2025: Warren Triennial Prize – Joel Habener, Daniel J. Drucker, Jens Holst and Svetlana Mojsov ^[21]

Selected publications

• Mojsov, Svetlana; Merrifield, R. B. (1984-12). "An improved synthesis of crystalline mammalian glucagon". European Journal of Biochemistry. 145 (3): 601–605. doi:10.1111/j.1432-1033.1984.tb08599.x. ISSN 0014-2956.
• Svetlana Mojsov; Gordon C. Weir; Joel F. Habener (1 February 1987). "Insulinotropin: glucagon-like peptide I (7-37) co-encoded in the glucagon gene is a potent stimulator of insulin release in the perfused rat pancreas". Journal of Clinical Investigation . 79 (2): 616–619. doi:10.1172/JCI112855. ISSN   0021-9738. PMC   424143 . PMID   3543057. Wikidata   Q40920945.
• S Mojsov; G Heinrich; I B Wilson; M Ravazzola; L Orci; J F Habener (1 September 1986). "Preproglucagon gene expression in pancreas and intestine diversifies at the level of post-translational processing". Journal of Biological Chemistry . 261 (25): 11880–11889. doi:10.1016/S0021-9258(18)67324-7. ISSN   0021-9258. PMID   3528148. Wikidata   Q68895656.
• Nathan, David M; Schreiber, Eric; Fogel, Howard; Mojsov, Svetlana; Habener, Joel F (1992-02-01). "Insulinotropic Action of Glucagonlike Peptide-I-(7–37) in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Subjects". Diabetes Care. 15 (2): 270–276. doi:10.2337/diacare.15.2.270. ISSN 0149-5992

Personal life

Her father was the politician and diplomat Lazar Mojsov. ^[22] At graduate school Mojsov met her future husband, Michel C. Nussenzweig.

References

1. Mojsov, Svetlana; Merrifield, R. B. (December 1984). "An improved synthesis of crystalline mammalian glucagon". European Journal of Biochemistry. 145 (3): 601–605. doi:10.1111/j.1432-1033.1984.tb08599.x. ISSN   0014-2956. PMID   6510418.
2. Mojsov, S. (1992). "Structural requirements for biological activity of glucagon-like peptide-I". International Journal of Peptide and Protein Research. 40 (3–4): 333–343. doi:10.1111/j.1399-3011.1992.tb00309.x. ISSN   0367-8377. PMID   1478791.
3. Mojsov, S; Heinrich, G; Wilson, I B; Ravazzola, M; Orci, L; Habener, J F (September 1986). "Preproglucagon gene expression in pancreas and intestine diversifies at the level of post-translational processing". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 261 (25): 11880–11889. doi: 10.1016/s0021-9258(18)67324-7 . ISSN   0021-9258. PMID   3528148.
4. Mojsov, S; Weir, G C; Habener, J F (1987-02-01). "Insulinotropin: glucagon-like peptide I (7-37) co-encoded in the glucagon gene is a potent stimulator of insulin release in the perfused rat pancreas". Journal of Clinical Investigation. 79 (2): 616–619. doi:10.1172/JCI112855. ISSN   0021-9738. PMC   424143 . PMID   3543057.
5. O’Rahilly, Stephen (2021-04-15). "The islet's bridesmaid becomes the bride: Proglucagon-derived peptides deliver transformative therapies". Cell. 184 (8): 1945–1948. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.03.019 . ISSN   0092-8674. PMID   33831374. S2CID   233131461.
6. Nathan, David M.; Schreiber, Eric; Fogel, Howard; Mojsov, Svetlana; Habener, Joel F. (1992). "Insulinotropic Action of Glucagonlike Peptide-I-(7–37) in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Subjects". Diabetes Care. 15 (2): 270–276. doi: 10.2337/diacare.15.2.270 . PMID   1547685 . Retrieved 2023-09-09.
7. "Svetlana Mojsov". Our Scientists. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
8. Her work paved the way for blockbuster obesity drugs. Now, she's fighting for recognition (Report). 2023-09-08. doi:10.1126/science.adk7627.
9. Molteni, Megan; Chen, Elaine (27 September 2023). "The Ozempic revolution is rooted in the work of Svetlana Mojsov, yet she's been edged out of the story". STAT. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
10. "Laureates". VinFuture Prize. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
11. "Nature's 10". www.nature.com. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
12. "Svetlana Mojsov named 2024 recipient of the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize". News. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
13. 2024 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize Ceremony . Retrieved 2024-04-23– via www.youtube.com.
14. "Joel Habener, Svetlana Mojsov, and Dan Drucker: The 100 Most Influential People of 2024". TIME. 2024-04-17. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
15. Princess of Asturias Awards 2024
16. "Tang Prize | Laureates". www.tang-prize.org. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
17. Admin, Lasker. "GLP-1-based therapy for obesity". Lasker Foundation. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
18. Prashant Nair (19 September 2024). "QnAs with Svetlana Mojsov, Joel Habener, and Lotte Bjerre Knudsen: Winners of the 2024 Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America . 121 (39). doi:10.1073/PNAS.2416868121. ISSN   0027-8424. Wikidata   Q130375905.
19. "Svetlana Mojsov". Premios Fronteras. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
20. "Breakthrough Prize – Breakthrough Prize Announces 2025 Laureates in Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics, and Mathematics". breakthroughprize.org. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
21. "2025 Warren Triennial Prize". ecor.mgh.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
22. "Macedonian scientist Svetlana Mojsov is among the recipients of the Asian Tang Prize for biopharmacy". Sloboden Pecat. 2024.