Svetlana Mojsov named one of TIME100 Most Influential People of 2024

Rockefeller’s Svetlana Mojsov has been named to the TIME100 list of Most Influential People of 2024, which honors artists, innovators, leaders, and pioneers in a variety of fields.

A research associate professor, Mojsov was named to the list for her groundbreaking discoveries about a blood sugar–regulating gut hormone called GLP-1, which paved the way for the blockbuster diabetes and obesity drugs Ozempic, Victoza, and Wegovy. These so-called GLP-1 agonists have transformed clinical care for blood-sugar management and weight loss.

Mojsov began researching diabetes at Rockefeller as a student and postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Nobel laureate Bruce Merrifield. In the 1980s, she moved to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she started investigating the then-mysterious GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1). She was the first to identify the biologically active sequence of GLP-1, hidden within its full string of 37 amino acids.

In collaboration with others, Mojsov went on to show that GLP-1 triggers insulin release in the pancreas, work that led directly to the therapeutic development of GLP-1 agonists. The fact that this new class of drugs are now used by millions of people is highly gratifying, she says: “It makes me feel professionally and personally fulfilled.”