Dartmouth College awarded the prestigious McGuire Family Prize for Societal Impact to Jason McLellan, in recognition of his groundbreaking coronavirus research that paved the way for life-saving COVID-19 vaccines. McLellan, who conducted his research at the Geisel School of Medicine, received the $100,000 prize as part of The Call to Lead campaign, which celebrates Dartmouth community members who have made significant contributions to humankind, society, or the environment.
The award was presented to McLellan during a ceremony held on May 13, as part of the Dartmouth Innovation and Technology Festival and the grand opening of the West End District. McLellan's vaccine technology was the foundation for COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, among others. His team at the Geisel School developed the vaccine technology that stabilized the spike protein in coronaviruses, which allowed vaccine antibodies to be more effective. The technology was used in the first U.S. COVID-19 vaccine trials and by other vaccine manufacturers in the months that followed.
Expressing his gratitude for receiving the prize from his former colleagues at Dartmouth, where he started his lab and was given the opportunity to be an independent investigator, McLellan's achievements have undoubtedly saved countless lives across the globe.
McLellan says he is honored to receive the McGuire Family Prize, especially as it’s coming from former colleagues at Dartmouth, “where I started my lab and where I was given the opportunity to be an independent investigator."