Svetlana Mojsov Explained

Svetlana Mojsov
Native Name:Светлана Мојсов
Birth Place:Skopje, Macedonia. Yugoslavia
Nationality:American
Fields:Biochemistry, Peptide synthesis
Workplaces:Massachusetts General Hospital
Rockefeller University
Alma Mater:Rockefeller University
Thesis Title:Studies on solid-phase peptide synthesis: the synthesis of glucagon
Thesis Url:https://worldcat.org/en/title/38093858
Thesis Year:1978
Awards:2023 VinFuture2023 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
2025 Warren Triennial Prize
Spouse:Michel C. Nussenzweig

Svetlana Mojsov is a Macedonian American, ex- Yugoslavian-born 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, Macedonia, ex 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, which is released by the pancreas. At the time it was proposed that glucagon might help to treat Type 2 diabetes.

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 created 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 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 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

Selected publications

Personal life

At graduate school Mojsov met her future husband, Michel C. Nussenzweig.

Notes and References

  1. Mojsov . Svetlana . Merrifield . R. B. . December 1984 . An improved synthesis of crystalline mammalian glucagon . European Journal of Biochemistry . en . 145 . 3 . 601–605 . 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1984.tb08599.x . 6510418 . 0014-2956.
  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 . 10.1111/j.1399-3011.1992.tb00309.x . 0367-8377 . 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 . 10.1016/s0021-9258(18)67324-7 . 3528148 . 0021-9258. free .
  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 . en . 79 . 2 . 616–619 . 10.1172/JCI112855 . 0021-9738 . 424143 . 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 . 10.1016/j.cell.2021.03.019 . 33831374 . 233131461 . 0092-8674. free .
  6. Insulinotropic Action of Glucagonlike Peptide-I-(7–37) in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Subjects . Diabetes Care . 1992 . 15 . 2 . 270–276 . 10.2337/diacare.15.2.270 . 2023-09-09 . free . Nathan . David M. . Schreiber . Eric . Fogel . Howard . Mojsov . Svetlana . Habener . Joel F. . 1547685 .
  7. Web site: Svetlana Mojsov . 2023-09-09 . Our Scientists . en.
  8. Her work paved the way for blockbuster obesity drugs. Now, she's fighting for recognition . 2023-09-08 . 10.1126/science.adk7627 . en.
  9. Web site: 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 . 2023-10-09 . STAT . en-US.
  10. Web site: Laureates . 2024-04-20 . VinFuture Prize . en-US.
  11. Web site: Nature's 10 . 2024-02-29 . www.nature.com . en.
  12. Web site: Svetlana Mojsov named 2024 recipient of the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize . 2024-04-20 . News . en.
  13. 2024 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize Ceremony . en . 2024-04-23 . www.youtube.com.
  14. Web site: 2024-04-17 . Joel Habener, Svetlana Mojsov, and Dan Drucker: The 100 Most Influential People of 2024 . 2024-04-20 . TIME . en.
  15. https://www.fpa.es/en/five-world-leaders-in-the-field-of-endocrinology-princess-of-asturias-award-for-technical-and-scientific-research.html Princess of Asturias Awards 2024
  16. Web site: Tang Prize Laureates . 2024-06-19 . www.tang-prize.org.
  17. Web site: 2025 Warren Triennial Prize . 2024-06-12 . ecor.mgh.harvard.edu.

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