Nomination criteria and process

A prize committee assembled by the University of Zurich selects the laureates. The committee's decisions are final and cannot be appealed.

Nominations may only be submitted by the leadership (e.g., President, Vice Presidents) of international academic (not-for-profit) institutions. Both individual scientists, teams (up to 3 people) or groups of scientists working independently on the same topic (up to 3 people) may be nominated. The nomination of women and minorities is encouraged to ensure equality and diversity.

A nominating institution may submit up to two proposals. Self-nominations are not accepted. In 2025, the prize will be awarded only for clinical/translational research in medicine.

The nomination package must include the following documents:

A nomination letter (3 pages max.) that explicitly addresses why the proposed candidate(s) meet(s) the prize criterion of having conducted “foundational, pioneering research of societal benefit”.
A maximum of 3 publications illustrating the nature and excellence of the candidate’s research.
A short CV (2 pages max.) of the proposed candidate, CVs for all nominees in the case of a group nomination.
A list of other scientists who, in addition to the nominee(s), should be considered for this award because they have made crucial contributions in collaboration with the nominee(s) or because they have made related observations independently; please explain in detail.