30/04/2020
The world's largest brain research prize is Danish and is awarded by the Lundbeck Foundation. Each year, we award 10 million DKK (approx. 1,3 million€) to one or more brain researchers who have had a ground-breaking impact on brain research.
Professor Huda Zoghbi and Professor Sir Adrian Bird have been awarded The Brain Prize 2020.
They received the prize for their insights in identifying the gene responsible for Rett syndrome, known as MECP2, and for showing how it regulates brain function.
MECP2 was discovered in 1992 by Professor Bird, and later shown by Professor Zoghbi to be the cause of the condition.
Their surprising discovery that some symptoms may be reversible has brought researchers closer to identifying a treatment for the disease and has helped reveal that other developmental disorders affecting the brain may also be treatable.