Seven Scientists Win 2026 Shaw Prize; Professor Chen Zhu Shares Life Science and Medicine Award

The Shaw Prize Foundation announced the 2026 (23rd) Shaw Prize laureates in Hong Kong on May 27, with seven scientists sharing the three prizes in astronomy, life science and medicine, and mathematical sciences. The Life Science and Medicine Prize was awarded jointly to Anne Dejean, emeritus professor at the Institut Pasteur in France; Hugues de The, chair professor of cellular and molecular oncology at the College de France; and Chen Zhu, professor at Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, in recognition of their discovery of the molecular and cellular basis of acute promyelocytic leukemia and their pioneering synergistic targeted therapy that has transformed the disease from one of the most deadly cancers into one of the most curable, with a cure rate exceeding 90 percent. Chen Zhu clarified that PML is the direct target of arsenic, combined retinoic acid with arsenic to establish a chemotherapy-free standard treatment regimen, and is the first scholar from China to win the Shaw Prize in 20 years.