Dr. Clifford P. Brangwynne

Director, Omenn-Darling Bioengineering Institute, Princeton University

June K. Wu '92 Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University

Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)

Reason for the Award

For the discovery that liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) serves as a fundamental principle of intracellular spatial organization.

Biography

Education

Harvard University Ph.D. Applied Physics, June 2007
Carnegie Mellon University B.S. Materials Science & Engineering, minor in Physics, with University Honors, May 2001

Professional Appointments

Professor, Princeton University (2019- )
HHMI Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2018- )
Marine Biological Laboratory (2024- )
Associate Professor, Princeton University (2017-2019)
Assistant Professor, Princeton University (2011-2017)
Max Planck Institutes for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics & MPI for Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany (2007-2010)

Awards

Keio Medical Science Prize, 2025
Breakthrough Prize for Life Sciences, 2023
HFSP Nakasone Award, 2021
Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences, 2020
and many others

Overview of the Awarded Research

In addition to membrane-bound structures such as the nucleus and mitochondria, cells contain membrane-less assemblies. Dr. Brangwynne revealed that liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), a principle long known in physics, also operates within living cells and explains the formation of these membrane-less assemblies. This discovery overturned the conventional assumption that cellular compartments are defined solely by membranes, establishing a new fundamental principle that brought about a paradigm shift in our understanding of the spatial organization of the cell.

LLPS has since informed our understanding of the postsynaptic density, the nucleolus, stress granules, and neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, transforming the field of cell biology to the extent of rewriting its textbooks.

Selection Highlights

Originality in applying a physics perspective to capture a phenomenon that had long been overlooked
Demonstrated that liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), a physical phenomenon, also operates within living cells, showing that the spatial organization of the cell can be explained through LLPS (a paradigm shift)
Established a theoretical foundation offering a universal explanation for a wide range of biological phenomena, including memory, gene expression regulation, and neurodegenerative disease
Judged the most fitting recipient of this award for a discovery that is both fundamental and highly promising, and already highly regarded internationally