Dr. Anna S. S. Gukovskaya, director of the pancreatic research group at UCLA and the Department of Veterans Affairs, has been named the 2025 recipient of the George E. Palade Prize by the International Association of Pancreatology (IAP). The award is considered the highest honor given by the IAP.
The Palade Prize recognizes scientists whose work has significantly advanced understanding in pancreatic biology and disease. According to the IAP, Gukovskaya is being honored for her research on molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.
Her research, which has received support from both the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs since 1994, has contributed to identifying how injured acinar cells trigger inflammatory responses characteristic of pancreatitis. She also investigates how organelle dysfunction within these cells initiates and drives pancreatitis progression. Currently, she leads a program funded by the National Cancer Institute that studies autophagy’s role in connecting high-fat, high-calorie diets with KRAS-mutated pancreatic cancer.
Gukovskaya is originally from Russia and holds a PhD in biochemistry from Moscow University as well as a Doctor of Science degree in cell biology from the Institute of Cytology at the USSR Academy of Sciences. She moved to the United States in 1992 to continue her work on pancreatitis, first at UC San Diego before joining UCLA.
Throughout her career, Gukovskaya has published over 160 scientific papers, reviews, and book chapters. She has mentored seven PhD students along with more than 80 MD and PhD postdoctoral scholars, trainees, and students internationally.
As part of receiving this prize, Gukovskaya will deliver a lecture on organelle disorders in pancreatitis at IAP’s Pancreas Summit 2025 scheduled for September in Melbourne, Australia.
