Prof. Dan Peer awarded Rappaport Prize for 2026 Established Researcher

The Rappaport Prize site: https://www.rappaport-prize.org.il/prof-dan-peer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0pFqWwwbHM

Dan Peer is a professor and the director of the Laboratory of Precision Nano-Medicine at Tel Aviv University (TAU). Since 2020, he has also served as the Vice President for Research and Development at Tel Aviv University. Dan Peer completed all of his academic training at Tel Aviv University, with specializations at the University of Cambridge (UK) and MIT, followed by a post-doctorate at Harvard Medical School. He returned to Tel Aviv University to establish the Laboratory of Precision Nano-Medicine in 2008.

Peer pioneered the field of Active Cellular Targeting (ACT) for selectively delivering RNA molecules to cells. He developed one of the largest lipid libraries in the world, containing over 100,000 unique lipids capable of forming RNA-encapsulating nanoparticles. His laboratory was the first in the world to demonstrate the systemic and cell-specific delivery of siRNA to immune system cells. Additionally, he was the first to demonstrate the systemic and cell-specific delivery of mRNA expressing a therapeutic protein in an animal model, as well as the first to demonstrate highly efficient therapeutic genome editing in cancer, also in a cell-specific manner. He also developed the first successful bacterial mRNA vaccine.

In recognition of his achievements, Peer has won more than 40 awards and honors. He holds over 150 patents and has developed more than ten strategies currently in clinical trials, including circular RNA (the first circular RNA in clinical use). Peer has also co-founded four startup companies (one of which was acquired in 2021). He was elected as a fellow of several professional bodies: the Israel Young Academy in 2014 (serving as co-chair until late 2015), the United States National Academy of Inventors (2024), and the Controlled Release Society (2025). Furthermore, Peer was elected as an international member of the United States National Academy of Engineering (2023).