DATE2026.06.08 #Awards & Prizes
Professor Hiroaki Suga won the Antonio Feltrinelli International Prize in Chemistry
Hiroaki Suga, Professor
Professor Hiroaki Suga has been awarded the 2026 Antonio Feltrinelli International Prize in Chemistry by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei of Italy.
The Antonio Feltrinelli International Prize is regarded as Italy's highest scientific and cultural distinction and is awarded to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science and the arts. The prize is presented at a formal ceremony at the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome, in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella. This prestigious recognition reflects the extraordinary international impact of Professor Suga's scientific achievements.
Professor Suga's accomplishments are particularly remarkable because they arose from an attempt to answer one of the most fundamental questions in biology: how molecular systems functioned before modern protein-dependent life emerged. Earlier in his scientific career, he pursued the hypothesis that ribozymes composed of RNA molecules may once have carried out functions that were only later assumed by protein enzymes. At the time, this line of inquiry represented fundamental curiosity-driven research with no obvious path toward practical applications.
This investigation ultimately led to one of Professor Suga's most important discoveries: the invention of flexizymes, artificially evolved ribozymes capable of charging tRNA molecules with a broad range of non-natural amino acids. This breakthrough enabled genetic code reprogramming by allowing codons normally assigned to natural amino acids to be reassigned to entirely new molecular building blocks. Combined with other technological developments, to create the RaPID system, these advances established a powerful framework for the discovery of functional macrocyclic peptides and revitalized the field of peptide-based drug discovery.
Today, Professor Suga's technologies are widely used throughout academia and the pharmaceutical industry, where they have directly contributed to the increased exploration of non-natural peptides for drug development. Through both fundamental scientific advances and their successful translation into practical innovation, his work has had major academic, technological, and commercial impact.
Professor Suga's achievements provide a powerful reminder that many of the most transformative advances in science emerge not from immediate practical objectives, but from efforts to understand the most fundamental questions about nature itself. His work stands as an outstanding example of the enduring importance of supporting fundamental research.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Professor Suga on this distinguished honor and wish him continued success in his future endeavors.
Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei
(Responsibility: Professor CAMPBELL Robert Earl, Department of Chemistry)