Mary-Claire King, Princess of Asturias Award for Science for her discoveries in cancer genetics

The jury for the Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research has decided to award the prize to 76-year-old American geneticist Mary-Claire King. The scientist is known for her discovery of the first gene linked to breast cancer and her subsequent work identifying victims of the Argentine dictatorship by comparing the DNA of grandparents and grandchildren.

King's research into the genetic origins of breast cancer in the 1990s led her to identify and name the BRCA1 gene, which increases the risk of developing this type of tumor. Her work and that of other researchers in this field eventually led to the identification of the BRCA2 gene, which is linked to breast and ovarian tumors. The proteins encoded by these genes repair damaged DNA and maintain cellular health. When these genes fail, this genetic protection is lost, and the risk of cancer increases. King's discovery was fundamental for early diagnosis and treatment decisions.

In the 1980s, King helped identify children stolen during the Argentine dictatorship (1976-1983). She developed a technique for analyzing mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited from mothers to daughters, which made it possible to determine the grandparents of children taken from their parents, many of whom were murdered by the military junta. King's work helped reunite more than 100 families.

Later, the Argentine government asked him for help identifying the remains of murdered individuals. King applied the same approach and was able to name murdered individuals buried in mass graves through DNA analysis preserved in tooth pulp, even decades later.

“Science is neutral; it can be used for good or evil, and this is a paradigmatic example of the power of science to help just causes for human rights,” King said in 2023 during a visit to Argentina where she was honored for her work.

Last year's award winners were five scientists who revolutionized the treatment of obesity . The Princess of Asturias Award jury recognized the work of Canadian Daniel J. Drucker, Danish Jens Juul Holst, and Americans Jeffrey M. Friedman, Joel F. Habener, and Svetlana Mojsov, which has culminated in several drugs to combat diabetes and obesity, such as Ozempic, an injectable drug whose sales are generating billions of euros each year. The award redressed the injustice that had been committed until now against Mojsov, who had always been left out of recognition for this achievement. In an interview with EL PAÍS, she said : "I don't know if they erased me from the history of the Ozempic because I'm a woman."

This scientific award is intended, according to its regulations , to reward "the work of cultivating and perfecting research, discovery and/or invention in astronomy and astrophysics, medical sciences, technological sciences, Earth and space sciences, life sciences, physics, mathematics and chemistry, as well as the disciplines corresponding to each of these fields and the techniques related to them."

The Princess of Asturias Award is endowed with a prize of 50,000 euros and a sculpture by Joan Miró. Deliberations in the scientific category began this Wednesday in Oviedo, with a 17-member jury chaired by physicist Pedro Miguel Echenique, which also included biologist Cristina Garmendia, mathematician Peregrina Quintela, geneticist Ginés Morata, and paleoanthropologist Juan Luis Arsuaga. On this occasion, a total of 59 candidates from 23 nationalities were nominated for the award.

The Scientific and Technical Research award is the seventh of eight to be awarded at the 45th Princess of Asturias Awards, with only the International Cooperation award still to be announced, on June 18. The awards ceremony, as is traditional, will be held in October in a solemn ceremony presided over by the King and Queen at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo, accompanied by Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía.