Jeffrey Gordon, E. Peter Greenberg and Bonnie L. Bassler 2023 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical & Scientific Research

At its meeting in Oviedo, the Jury for the 2023 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research, made up of Jesús del Álamo, Alberto Aparici Benages, Juan Luis Arsuaga Ferreras, Avelino Corma Canós, Miguel Delibes de Castro, Sandra Myrna Díaz, Clara Grima Ruiz, Bernardo Hernández González, Jerónimo López Martínez, Inmaculada Martínez Rubio, Amador Menéndez Velázquez, Concepción Alicia Monje Micharet, Ginés Morata Pérez, Inés Rodríguez Hidalgo, María Teresa Telleria Jorge, María Vallet Regí, María Paz Zorzano Mier, chaired by Pedro Miguel Echenique Landiríbar and with Cristina Garmendia Mendizábal acting as secretary, has decided to grant the Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research to American biologists Jeffrey Gordon and Everett Peter Greenberg and American biochemist Bonnie Lynn Bassler for their contributions to new approaches that recognize the essential role of microorganism communities in life on Earth, including that of human beings.

Jeffrey Gordon has spearheaded the discovery and understanding of the human microbiome, i.e. the vast number and diversity of microorganisms that live in the body, which play essential roles in health, including nutrition, metabolism and immune response. Peter Greenberg and Bonnie Lynn Bassler have brought to light communication mechanisms between bacteria, which emit chemical signals that modulate their collective behaviour. Both discoveries are enabling innovative therapeutic applications and the search for new effective treatments against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Oviedo, 7th June 2023