Utah biochemist named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people
Apr 17, 2025, 3:24 PM | Updated: 4:52 pm
University of Utah biochemist Wesley Sundquist made Time Magazine's 100 most influential people list. (Courtesy University of Utah Health)
(Courtesy University of Utah Health)
SALT LAKE CITY — A University of Utah medical researcher finds himself on Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2025 alongside names like Simone Biles, Elon Musk and Hozier.
The Time100 list recognizes biochemist Wesley Sundquist and virologist Tomas Cihlar for developing a drug capable of preventing HIV infection for up to six months. If widely distributed, global HIV infection rates could significantly decline.
In studies, the drug has been shown to be 99.9 to 100% effective in preventing HIV.
The development began in 1994 when Sundquist conducted research on HIV to understand how its virus particles are put together.
He discovered that a crucial component of the virus is highly sensitive to changes. Together with Cihlar, he developed a drug specifically targeting this.
“What’s unusual and exciting about Lenacapavir, which is the drug that prevents HIV transmission, is that it’s given to people who are at risk but not yet infected by HIV and it protects them for six months from infection,” Sundquist said.
‘This doesn’t usually happen to scientists’
Sundquist said he was very surprised by his inclusion on the Time100 list.
“It was a complete surprise,” he said. “It’s fun. This doesn’t usually happen to scientists.”
Sundquist and the others who made the list will attend a gala next week in New York.
“This doesn’t happen very often, so I will probably be starstruck by people like Snoop Dogg.”
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