PNAS Announces 2025 Cozzarelli Prize Recipients

The Editorial Board of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has selected six papers published by PNAS in 2025 to receive the Cozzarelli Prize, an award that recognizes outstanding contributions to the scientific disciplines represented by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Papers were chosen from more than 3,600 research articles that appeared in the journal last year and represent the six broadly defined classes under which the NAS is organized. Additionally, the Editorial Board has recognized six papers—one in each class—as finalists for the 2025 Cozzarelli Prize.

The annual Cozzarelli Prize acknowledges papers that reflect scientific excellence and originality. The award was established in 2005 as the Paper of the Year Prize and was renamed in 2007 to honor late PNAS Editor-in-Chief Nicholas R. Cozzarelli. The 2025 awardees will be recognized at an awards ceremony during the NAS Annual Meeting in April 2026.

Class IV: Biomedical Sciences

Winner:

Inhibiting 15-PGDH blocks blood–brain barrier deterioration and protects mice from Alzheimer’s disease and traumatic brain injury

Yeojung Koh, Edwin Vázquez-Rosa, Farrah Gao, Hongyun Li, Suwarna Chakraborty, Sunil Jamuna Tripathi, Sarah Barker, Zea Bud, Anusha Bangalore, Uapingena P. Kandjoze, Rose A. León-Alvarado, Preethy S. Sridharan, Brittany A. Cordova, Youngmin Yu, Jiwon Hyung, Hua Fang, Salendra Singh, Ramachandra Katabathula, Thomas LaFramboise, Lakshmi Kasturi, James Lutterbaugh, Lydia Beard, Erika Cordova, Coral J. Cintrón-Pérez, Kathryn Franke, Mariana Franco Fragoso, Emiko Miller, Vidya Indrakumar, Kamryn L. Noel, Matasha Dhar, Kaouther Ajroud, Carlos Zamudio, Filipa Blasco Tavares Pereira Lopes, Evangeline Bambakidis, Xiongwei Zhu, Brigid Wilson, Margaret E. Flanagan, Tamar Gefen, Hisashi Fujioka, Stephen P. Fink, Amar B. Desai, Dawn Dawson, Noelle S. Williams, Young-Kwang Kim, Joseph M. Ready, Bindu D. Paul, Min-Kyoo Shin, Sanford D. Markowitz, and Andrew A. Pieper

Degradation of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) contributes to neurodegeneration and cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). The authors of this study explored whether inhibiting an enzyme that breaks down prostaglandins and other anti-inflammatory mediators could protect the BBB. The authors found that the enzyme—15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH)—was pathologically elevated in mouse models of AD and TBI, as well as in brain tissues from humans with these conditions. Inhibiting 15-PGDH in mouse models of AD and TBI reduced oxidative injury and neuroinflammation, preserved BBB integrity, and preserved cognition. Protection in the AD mouse model was achieved without a reduction in amyloid pathology, indicating a noncanonical therapeutic mechanism. The findings establish 15-PGDH inhibition as a potential strategy to preserve cognitive health in AD and TBI.

Link to study: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2417224122

Link to PNAS Announcement: https://www.nasonline.org/news/pnas-2025-cozzarelli-recipients/