Professor Sadaf Farooqi is the 2026 recipient of the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) – Novo Nordisk Foundation Obesity Prize for Excellence for her seminal contributions to understanding the genetic and physiological mechanisms that contribute to the development of obesity and its related complications.
A clinician-scientist, Professor Farooqi has fundamentally advanced scientific understanding of how body weight is regulated in humans and has helped shape new approaches to obesity management. The prize, awarded jointly by EASO and the Novo Nordisk Foundation, includes a DKK 2 million award. Of this, DKK 300,000 is a personal award, and DKK 1.7 million goes to support further research. Four researchers will also receive New Investigator Awards for their promising obesity research.
The EASO – Novo Nordisk Foundation Obesity Prize for Excellence is awarded annually for outstanding research or technological contributions that can improve our understanding of obesity, its causes, complications, prevention, and management.
Professor Sadaf Farooqi said: “I am deeply honoured to receive this award in recognition of our team’s work. Over the last two decades, our research has proved that genetic and biological factors play a major role in the development of obesity. With this Prize, we will develop new technology to study how hormones made by adipose tissue affect mechanisms such as glucose uptake, inflammation and lipid accumulation across multiple organs, using Organ-on-a-chip technology. Harnessing the latest advances in technology, our aim is to identify new molecular mechanisms which can be targeted therapeutically to improve the lives of children and adults living with obesity.”
