Every two years, the Dr H.P. Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics honours an internationally leading scientist for their pioneering work and research excellence in biochemistry and biophysics. The year 2024, marks the 60th anniversary of the prize. Nominations are now closed. .

About the prizes
Alfred Heineken established the Dr H.P. Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics in 1964. Since then, the prize has become the Netherlands’ most prestigious international science award. Laureates of the prize include some of the world’s leading scientists and future Nobel laureates. Among them are Sir Paul Nurse, Jennifer Doudna and Carolyn Bertozzi. The aim of the Dr H.P. Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics is to honour, encourage, and reward the essential work scientists do for the field and society. As part of this, all laureates receive a freely disposable cash prize of 250,000 USD and a trophy, funded by the Alfred Heineken Fondsen Foundation.

Who can be nominated
Candidates eligible for nomination for the prize are those who:

  • are excellent, internationally recognised scientists;
  • are active scientists whose scientific work still holds considerable promise;
  • have an appointment at a university or research institute in the Netherlands or elsewhere.

For more information about the regulations, click here.

Who can nominate candidates
The following are eligible to nominate candidates for the prize:

  • individual professors from universities in the Netherlands and elsewhere;
  • boards of management and deans of universities in the Netherlands;
  • directors of research institutes in the Netherlands;
  • academies and other scientific or scholarly institutions in the Netherlands and elsewhere.

Please note that you cannot nominate yourself.

The process: from nomination to ceremony

1: Registration nominees
Please fill in the nomination form in English and complete your registration by uploading all required documents by 18 December 2023.

2: Confirmation of registration
After completing the registration of your nomination, you will receive an email confirming your application within one week. If you do not receive an email, please contact us at office@heinekenprizes.org.

3: Selection procedure
The selection of the Dr H.P. Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics laureate is entrusted to an independent jury. All jury members are leading experts in their field.

4: Announcement laureates
The laureate of the Dr H.P. Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics will receive a phone call in April 2024. We will officially announce the winners in a press release in June 2024.

5: Award ceremony
The Award Ceremony will be held on 26 September 2024 to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of the laureates.

For questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at office@heinekenprizes.org.