2025 Alumni Award Winners
Distinguished Alumni Awards
Michael Jung ’69
Michael Jung is honored for pioneering medicinal chemistry breakthroughs, including co-developing FDA-approved prostate cancer therapies Xtandi and Erleada that have extended countless lives worldwide. As the Walter and Shirley Wang Chair in Medicinal Drug Discovery at UCLA, he holds over 450 patents and continues advancing drug discovery through strong interdisciplinary collaboration.
Wilfred van der Donk ’94
Wilfred van der Donk is recognized for groundbreaking natural product research addressing antibiotic resistance. As the Richard E. Heckert Endowed Chair in Chemistry at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, his discoveries include new antimicrobial molecules and the co-discovery of the antibiotic geobacillin. He is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and a leader in natural product exploration.
Recent Alumni Award
Aparna Bhaduri ’10
Aparna Bhaduri is honored for innovative research in brain development and brain cancers using single-cell genomics and organoid models. An assistant professor at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, she has published extensively and mentors undergraduate scientists, embodying a commitment to rigorous, inclusive research and training the next generation.
Read the full announcement of the 2025 Alumni Award Winners
Previous Alumni Award Winners
2024
Distinguished Alumni Award: Martha Lou Broussard ’57
Recent Alumni Award: Onja Razafindratsima ’15
2024 Inaugural Alumni Award Winners Announcement