The Golden Goose awards recognize scientific research that initially may appear trivial, but ultimately results in significant practical breakthroughs.
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The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Association of American Universities (AAU) have announced the 2025 Golden Goose Awards, a recognition that spotlights obscure, sometimes silly sounding basic research discoveries that ultimately result in significant social benefits.
This year’s awards, revealed last week by AAAS, honor laboratory investigations that led to the development of cisplatin, a highly effective drug for the treatment of testicular cancer; and discoveries in basic cell biology that helped advance the field of disease diagnostics.
The Golden Goose Award, an annual celebration of the value of basic research, recognizes federally funded research that initially appears trivial but ultimately leads to a major practical advance.
The name of the award stems from the “Golden Fleece Awards,” a tongue-in-cheek designation coined by the late senator William Proxmire in the 1970s to belittle federal spending that he considered wasteful. Proxmire singled out research that appeared unimportant on its face and was therefore easily mis-characterized as a waste of taxpayer funds.
However, Proxmire’s ridicule was ultimately converted into an honor when Representative Jim Cooper of Tennessee introduced the idea of the Golden Goose Award about two decades ago. Championing an award that would recognize the benefits of federally funded research by highlighting examples of apparently inconsequential studies that yielded major breakthroughs, Cooper announced the creation of the Golden Goose Award in Spring 2012.
Since then, researchers have been recognized annually for basic science investigations that have led to life-saving medicines and treatments; major social and behavioral insights; and technological advances involving national security, energy, the environment, communications, and public health.
“The Golden Goose awardees definitively demonstrate that federally funded American science continues to deliver for all of us. These discoveries show that American science is anything but stagnant. AAAS and the American people will continue to support federal investment in research that can make us healthier, safer, and stronger,” said Sudip S. Parikh, AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals, in a news release.
This year’s awards recognize two discoveries, both of which were supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation
Study of Bacteria Leads to A Drug for Testicular Cancer — Barnett Rosenberg, Loretta VanCamp, and Thomas Krigas
In the 1960s, Barnett Rosenberg, professor of biophysics at Michigan State University, along with lab technician Loretta VanCamp and a team of graduate students including Thomas Krigas, examined how electric fields affect cell division in E. coli bacteria. Rosenberg (who passed away in 2009) and his team discovered that the division resulted in the bacteria elongating into long, spaghetti-like shapes. After some follow-up experiments, they found that platinum compounds released from the electrodes were responsible for that result.
This finding led to the development of cisplatin, a platinum-based chemotherapy drug approved in 1978. At the time, the idea of using a metal-containing compound was viewed skeptically by clinicians because of concerns about its toxicity for humans. However, after it was discovered that the harmful side effects could be mitigated, cisplatin was approved and delivered outstanding clinical results — increasing the survival rate for testicular cancer from around 10% to over 90%.
Studying Basic Organisms Paves Way to Better Disease Diagnostics — Joseph G. Gall
Joseph G. Gall, widely known as “the father of modern cell biology,” conducted research on an array of life forms during a career that saw him hold appointments at the University of Minnesota, Yale University and Carnegie Science. His study of frog egg cells (oocytes) led to a technique called “in situ hybridization,” which has since become widely used in scientific research and disease diagnostics. In other experiments, Gall, who died last year, suggested that Tetrahymena, a single-celled “pond scum” organism, could serve as a model for landmark discoveries involving stretches of DNA called telomeres, which have since advanced the understanding of aging.
According to the AAAS citation about Gall’s work, “beyond the knack for nature’s oddities that helped guide his and his colleagues’ scientific research, Gall was renowned as a mentor, particularly for women scientists at a time when it wasn’t the norm, and several highly accomplished, prize-winning scientists have come through his lab.”
This year’s awards come at a particularly fraught time, with research of all kinds under multiple attacks from the Trump administration as several legal battles concerning billions of dollars in NIH and NSF funding play out in the courts. The stakes for American science and university scientists couldn’t be higher. Historically, the awards have enjoyed bi-partisan support in Congress, but whether that kind of broad approval will be maintained in the current politically polarized environment is an open question.
One encouraging sign was provided by Jay Obernolte (R-CA), Chairman of the House Research and Technology Subcommittee, who said he was “proud to help highlight how American innovation drives both our economy and our national security,” adding “this year’s Golden Goose awardees show that fundamental research not only expands knowledge but also creates jobs, strengthens our competitiveness against rivals like China, and improves the everyday lives of Americans. For generations, the United States has led the world in discovery and innovation. By continuing to invest wisely in research, we can ensure that America remains the global leader in science and technology.”
On September 16, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Association of American Universities will co-host the 14th annual Golden Goose Award Ceremony at the Library of Congress.