Three of America’s most promising young scientists were awarded top honors tonight at the 2025 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, one of the country’s most significant prizes for early-career researchers. Presented by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and The New York Academy of Sciences, the awards recognize exceptional scientific achievement and innovation by U.S.-based researchers aged 42 and younger.

The winners of the 2025 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists are:

Life Sciences Laureate: Philip J. Kranzusch, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Harvard Medical School (Microbiology) - Recognized for discovering that human innate immunity evolved from ancient pathways in bacteria, explaining the molecular basis for how human cells defend against infections and cancer.

 

Chemical Sciences Laureate: Frank Leibfarth, PhD, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Polymer Chemistry) - Recognized for pioneering approaches to upcycle plastic waste and remove toxic ‘forever chemicals’ from water by developing reactions and catalysts that selectively control the structure and function of polymers.

 

Physical Sciences & Engineering Laureate: Elaina J. Sutley, PhD, University of Kansas (Civil Engineering) - Recognized for comprehensive, systematic computer modeling and engineering to address disaster mitigation and recovery, informing building codes and disaster readiness policies across the country.

Researchers have unveiled a surprising new way that soil microbes can use sunlight energy — even after the lights go out. A team from Kunming University of Science and Technology and the University of Massachusetts Amherst has developed a “bio-photovoltage soil-microbe battery” that can capture, store, and release solar energy to power the breakdown of antibiotic pollutants in the dark.

A team of scientists has found that biochar made from an aggressive invasive plant can protect rice from two modern pollutants that threaten global food security: nanoplastics and cadmium. The study, published in Biochar, reveals how biochar biofilters derived from Mikania micrantha, an invasive vine spreading across Asia, can reduce the combined toxicity of these contaminants by regulating plant metabolism and strengthening rice’s natural defense systems.

The U.S. has traditionally been an agricultural powerhouse with a healthy trade surplus. But global dynamics are changing due to a confluence of political and economic factors. U.S. agricultural imports now exceed exports, and the trade deficit is projected to worsen in the coming years. In a new study, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Texas Tech University discuss recent developments affecting the U.S. trade in row crops such as corn, soybeans, wheat, and cotton.

Fueled by a $2.7 million award from the National Institutes of Health, an interdisciplinary research team is developing non-invasive imaging technology that will help clinicians overcome current challenges of obtaining high-resolution images from deep inside tissue.