image: Maria Jasin
Credit: MSKCC
Maria Jasin, whose fundamental research on repair of damaged DNA in cells has transformed our understanding of cancers linked to inherited gene mutations, has been selected as the 2025 recipient of the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize. Awarded annually by Rockefeller University, the prize is the preeminent international award recognizing outstanding women scientists.
Jasin, an investigator at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, will be honored at a ceremony on campus on September 16. She will be presented with the award by architect Wendy Evans Joseph, the founder of Studio Joseph who is known for her work with public, cultural, and educational institutions throughout the country, including the infrastructure design for the Campus Community Bridge at Rockefeller.
A giant in the field of DNA repair, Jasin overturned previous assumptions when she showed that homologous recombination is a major pathway for the repair of DNA breaks in mammalian cells. She went on to uncover the mechanism by which the tumor suppressor genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 can impede the development of breast cancer, showing that cells require the appropriate function of these genes to repair a type of DNA damage called a double-strand break. Absent this protection, the likelihood of a tumor increases dramatically. Jasin’s lab has also elucidated the roles of BRCA genes in cancer treatment and demonstrated that both BRCA genes may block the occurrence of DNA damage in the first place. A focus of her lab’s current research is to understand DNA repair in breast cells at various developmental stages and in different contexts.
Jasin is also beng honored for her critical contributions to gene editing. “Maria’s work laid a foundation for developing gene editing as a tool for therapy,” says Michael W. Young, selection committee chair and the Richard and Jeanne Fisher Professor at Rockefeller. “Her discovery that chromosome breaks promote recombination allowed her to perform the first site-directed gene editing. By programming cells with site-specific nucleases, her studies mark the starting point for all later gene-editing programs.”
Jasin is a member of the National Academies of Sciences and Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She received her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Zürich and Stanford University prior to joining the faculty at MSKCC.
The Pearl Meister Greengard Prize was established by the late Paul Greengard, the Vincent Astor Professor at Rockefeller, and his wife, the sculptor Ursula von Rydingsvard. Greengard donated his monetary share of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Rockefeller and, in partnership with generous supporters, established an annual award to recognize outstanding women scientists. The prize, which includes a $100,000 honorarium, is named for Greengard’s mother, who died during his birth.
Visit this page to register for the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize ceremony and learn more about the award. The event is open to the public, but registration for attendees is encouraged.