GERTRUDE ELION MEMORIAL AWARD

Hong Liu, PhD

Prof. Hong Liu’s research mainly focuses on innovative drug discovery and target identification, and she has established a multidisciplinary platform that integrates artificial intelligence (AI), medicinal chemistry, and chemical biology for innovative drug discovery and mechanism studies. Her work aims to address several serious diseases, including viral infections, neuropsychiatric disorders, metabolic diseases, and cancer. She has systematically developed innovative and efficient synthetic methodologies and established a diverse “privileged scaffold library” containing over 10,000 compounds with more than 500 scaffolds. Through these efforts, as the first or principal inventor, she has discovered 12 innovative drug candidates, obtained 21 clinical trial approvals in China and abroad, advanced seven candidates beyond Phase I into Phase II/III clinical studies, and achieved 10 successful technology transfers. Prof. Liu has published over 500 papers, including more than 400 as corresponding author in peer-reviewed journals, such as Science, Nature, Chem. Rev., Cell Metab., J. Am. Chem. Soc., Sci. Adv., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., and these publications have been cited over 25,000 times with an H-index of 67. She has been recognized as a “Highly Cited Chinese Researcher” by Elsevier for six consecutive years from 2020 to 2025. She has contributed chapters to 18 books and co-edited an advanced medicinal chemistry textbook. Additionally, she holds 189 granted patents worldwide, including 127 patents granted in 13 countries and regions, such as the United States and Europe. Prof. Liu has been elected a Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society (CCS), the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). She also serves as a Council Member of the Asian Federation for Medicinal Chemistry (AFMC). In addition, she has served as an Associate Editor of leading international journals in medicinal chemistry, including the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters.

About the Award

The Gertrude Elion Memorial Award is presented annually by the International Society for Antiviral Research (ISAR) at the International Conference on Antiviral Research. The award honors a senior scientist of international stature who has made outstanding contributions to science, particularly through work that has directly or indirectly advanced antiviral research. The award includes a $7,500 honorarium and up to $2,500 in travel support (varies based on awardee location). The recipient will also deliver a 45-minute lecture at the annual conference.

Award Criteria

The recipient should be a senior scientist (basic or clinical) who has demonstrated:

Nominations

Nominations must be submitted by a member in good standing of ISAR and should include:

• A letter of recommendation describing the nominee’s accomplishments, qualifications, and suitability for the award pertaining to the criteria posted above.
• The nominee’s curriculum vitae.

Nominations are reviewed by the ISAR Awards Committee, which selects the recipient. The ISAR President will notify the recipient and nominator of the selection. The award is presented at the next International Conference on Antiviral Research, where the recipient will deliver the Gertrude Elion Memorial Lecture

Previous Recipients