Oswald Steward Wins 2026 Kavli Prize for Discovery That Transformed Fragile X Research
FRAXA congratulates Oswald Steward, PhD, longtime FRAXA-funded investigator and member of FRAXA’s Scientific Advisory Board, on receiving the 2026 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience.
Dr. Steward shares the prize with Drs. Christine Holt, Kelsey Martin, and Erin Schuman for pioneering discoveries that changed how scientists understand the brain. Their work revealed that neurons can make proteins locally — not only in the cell body, but out at dendrites, axons, and synapses, precisely where brain connections are formed, strengthened, weakened, and remodeled.
For Fragile X syndrome, that discovery was foundational.
Fragile X is caused by loss of the FMRP protein, which normally helps regulate the translation of messenger RNAs into proteins at synapses. When this regulation is disrupted, synapses produce proteins at the wrong time, in the wrong amounts, or in the wrong places. That insight opened the door to a generation of Fragile X treatment strategies aimed at correcting the downstream effects of dysregulated protein synthesis.
“Without Dr. Steward’s discovery, there wouldn’t be Fragile X treatment targets to target.”
Katie Clapp
President and Co-Founder
FRAXA Research Foundation
Dr. Steward’s early work helped make it possible to see Fragile X not only as a genetic disorder, but as a disorder of synaptic function that could be studied, measured, and ultimately treated. Over many years, FRAXA has supported Dr. Steward’s laboratory and hundreds of other investigators working to understand how altered protein synthesis contributes to Fragile X syndrome.
“FRAXA support for my lab and many others has helped build a new generation of investigators focused on dysregulated mRNA translation and local protein synthesis in Fragile X and related neurodevelopmental disorders — and on moving therapies based on this understanding toward clinical trials.”
Oswald Steward, PhD
Distinguished Professor
UC Irvine
That story is still unfolding. Current FRAXA-funded work, including research by Dr. Patricia Pirbhoy, continues to build directly on the scientific foundation Dr. Steward helped establish: how local protein synthesis is controlled at synapses, how it goes awry in Fragile X, and how that knowledge can be translated into rational treatment strategies.
The Kavli Prize recognizes discoveries that reshape entire fields. Dr. Steward’s work did exactly that. It helped change the central question in Fragile X research from “What gene is missing?” to “What goes wrong at the synapse and how can we fix it?”
Dr. Steward’s discovery continues to shape Fragile X research today, guiding the field toward treatments designed to correct what goes wrong at the synapse.