Mustafa Prize Laureate Donates Award Money to Support Young Scientists
Mehmet Toner, one of three recipients of the 2025 Mustafa Prize, has designated his cash award to help advance the Rasul Medal and support the next generation of scientists. Under the prize's regulations, the $500,000 award was shared among Toner and his two fellow laureates.
Other Mustafa Prize recipients have also contributed their prize money to the initiative. Ugur Sahin in 2019, Omid Farrokhzad in 2023, and Vahab Mirrokni in 2025 donated their awards to help establish and develop the Rasul Medal.
Born in Turkey in 1958, Toner is a professor of biomedical engineering at Harvard Medical School. He received the 2025 Mustafa Prize for developing nano- and microfluidic devices for clinical applications. His technology enables cancer cells to be isolated from blood samples, facilitating early diagnosis, disease monitoring, and the development of more precise treatments.
The Rasul Medal
Originally established as the Young Scientist Medal, the Rasul Medal was developed through contributions from Mustafa Prize laureates Ugur Sahin, Omid Farrokhzad, and Vahab Mirrokni. The award recognizes scientists under the age of 40 who reside in Islamic countries. Its inaugural edition was held alongside the sixth Mustafa Prize ceremony in 2025.
The medal honors influential scientific and technological contributions by young researchers in three broad fields: life and medical sciences and technology; basic and engineering sciences; and computer science.
Candidates must be nominated by an independent scientific or technological organization. Eligible nominators include universities, research centers, established scientific and technological associations and institutions, academies of sciences, and science and technology parks.
Applicants must be under 40 by the end of the year in which the medal is awarded. Accordingly, candidates for the 2026 Rasul Medal must have been born in 1987 or later.
Winners in each category receive a medal, a certificate, and a cash award of $10,000.
The Rasul Medal aims to recognize exceptional young scientific talent across the Islamic world, encourage scientific and technological innovation, and highlight achievements with a meaningful impact on research and society.
