President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova has awarded biochemist Svetlana Mojsov the Order of "8 September," the country's highest state decoration, for her contribution to developing Macedonian science on a global scale and to raising Macedonia's profile in international intellectual circles.

"I am speechless. Thank you very much," Mojsov said, visibly moved, as she received the honor.

From Skopje to Rockefeller

Mojsov was born on December 8, 1947, in Skopje, where she finished primary and secondary school. She graduated in physical chemistry from the University of Belgrade in 1971, and the following year left for doctoral studies at Rockefeller University in New York. There she worked in the lab of Bruce Merrifield, the scientist who developed solid-phase peptide synthesis and won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1984.

Her key field is the hormone GLP-1. Drugs known as Ozempic, Wegovy, Victoza and Rybelsus, a new generation of treatments for type 2 diabetes and obesity, were developed on the basis of her work. Her research produced 10 significant patents, and in 2024 Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

A story long left unsaid

The road to recognition took almost four decades. In September, Mojsov finally came to Macedonia as a scientist whose work had already been recognized by the world's most important scientific institutions. In Ohrid she spoke with colleagues, students and young researchers, and on September 28 she will deliver her inaugural lecture on GLP-1 at the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Siljanovska-Davkova said that although fate took her to the US, "we say with pride that she is Macedonian, born in Skopje." That's true. But pride comes easy once the world has already done the hard part, recognizing her. How many young Macedonian scientists today have a real chance to stay and work here - and how many will have to leave before we notice them?

The order is well deserved. It would be nice if the next one didn't take almost four decades.