David R. Liu
A chemical biologist whose laboratory developed base editing and prime editing. These approaches offer ways to alter DNA sequences without relying on conventional double-strand-break editing.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Selection, History and Research
Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Selection, History and Research. Explore the context, source evidence and related Nobel Prize coverage.
Start with the awarding body and selection rules, then explore contributions and verified past recipients. The current-year discussion is kept on its own annual page.
Awarding body
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Selection process
The responsible prize body receives eligible nominations, evaluates the proposed contributions and decides the recipients. The rules and eligible nominators differ by field; a nomination is not a guarantee of selection.
NobelPrize.orgResearch and work
Base editing · molecular self-assembly · electron transfer
2025 laureates
Susumu Kitagawa · Richard Robson · Omar M. Yaghi
Current nomination records are confidential for 50 years. An expert recommendation or a market listing does not establish an official nomination.
Read each source within its own scope. A name appearing in several lists is a useful observation, not a calculated chance of winning.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026Related reading
Harry B. Gray
A bioinorganic chemist who investigates metals and electron movement in biological molecules. His work with collaborators helped explain long-range electron transfer through proteins.
Ralph G. Nuzzo
A materials chemist who helped develop self-assembled monolayers. These molecular films allow researchers to control the chemistry of surfaces and interfaces.
Base editing and prime editing
Base editing changes particular DNA base pairs using targeted molecular machinery; prime editing uses a different design to write sequence changes. Neither should be described as unrestricted or error-free editing. Delivery, unintended changes and the biological context still matter.
Self-assembled monolayers
Self-assembled monolayers form when molecules organize into a thin layer on a surface. Their anchoring groups and outward-facing groups let researchers tune surface chemistry. A molecular coating is not the same as a bulk material with identical properties.
Electron transfer in proteins
Proteins can transfer electrons between sites separated in space. Distance, molecular structure and environment affect the transfer rate, helping explain biological energy conversion. Electron transfer is a specific molecular process, not simply current flowing through a miniature metal wire.