Nomination procedure launched for Marcel Benoist Swiss Science Prize
Berne, 12.01.2026 — This year, the Marcel Benoist Swiss Science Prize, endowed with CHF 250,000, will be awarded in the field of life sciences (biology and medicine). Nominations can be submitted up to 23 February 2026. The prize has been awarded every year since 1920.
The Marcel Benoist Swiss Science Prize is Switzerland’s most prestigious research prize. It honours individuals whose research work has originated predominantly in Switzerland and has made a significant contribution to science and society. Of the previous winners, 11 have gone on to win the Nobel Prize.
In 2025, the Marcel Benoist Prize was awarded in the fields of mathematics, engineering and natural sciences. In 2026, leading figures in Swiss research from the field of life sciences (biology and medicine) can be nominated.
The winners of the Marcel Benoist and Latsis Swiss Science Prizes will receive their awards at a joint award ceremony of the two foundations in the presence of Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin. The ceremony will be held on 5 November 2026 in the Federal Palace. The prizewinners will be announced in September.
Nominations to be submitted by 23 February
The Marcel Benoist Foundation has appointed the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) to evaluate nominations and to select the prizewinner on behalf of the Foundation Board. Researchers, representatives of universities, research institutions or other public or private law institutions may nominate currently active researchers who work at a Swiss institution. The relevant research work must have been carried out predominantly in Switzerland. Candidates are not permitted to nominate themselves. Full nomination information is available on the website of the Marcel Benoist Foundation.
Nominations can be submitted on the Marcel Benoist Foundation website from now until 23 February: https://marcel-benoist.ch/en/nomination-2026.
The Marcel Benoist Foundation
The Marcel Benoist Foundation was established in 1920 when the Federal Council accepted Marcel Benoist's legacy. Since 2018, the foundation has been set up as a public-private partnership, supported by a Patronage Committee with private donors. The Federal Council elects the members of the Board of Trustees from the worlds of science and economics, and the head of the EAER awards the prize. The Foundation Secretariat is provided by the EAER’s State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). In addition, the SNSF selects the prizewinner for the Board of Trustees, which has been chaired since 2023 by Nobel Laureate Didier Queloz.
Contact:
Marcel Benoist Foundation; info@marcel-benoist.ch; Tel +41 58 48 44941
SNSF; mbp@snf.ch; Tel. 031 308 22 22