News

SfRBM's Senior Awards Committee has announced that the recipient of the 2025 Discovery Award is Dr. Kivanc Birsoy of Rockefeller University.  He is being recognized for his research addressing one of the most persistent unknowns in redox biology: how redox balance is maintained across organelles and how this spatial regulation intersects with metabolism, physiology, and disease.

Among Dr. Birsoy's most impactful discoveries is the identification of SLC25A39 as the mitochondrial glutathione transporter (Nature, 2021). For decades, the presence of glutathione (GSH) in mitochondria was well documented, yet the mechanism of its import remained entirely unknown. Dr. Birsoy’s lab not only identified SLC25A39 as the missing transporter, but also revealed a fundamentally new role for mitochondrial GSH: rather than acting predominantly as an antioxidant, it serves as a critical cofactor for iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis, essential for mitochondrial respiration, DNA replication, and metabolic integrity. This discovery resolved a longstanding question in redox biology and shifted the paradigm around mitochondrial redox function—from generalized oxidative defense to precise biochemical necessity.

Dr. Birsoy will give a featured lecture on "Understanding the Role of Organellar Redox Homeostasis in Health and Disease" during SfRBM 2025. Click here to learn more about Dr. Birsoy and his work.