How Svetlana Mojsov Found GLP-1’s Exact Structure Three Decades Before Anyone Called It Ozempic

The peptide research beginnings

In 1972, Svetlana Mojsov was a doctoral student at Rockefeller University in New York City, working with biochemist Bruce Merrifield. He had developed solid-phase peptide synthesis, a method for producing peptides in a laboratory, and later received the 1984 Nobel Prize.

Mojsov used the technique to synthesize glucagon for her doctoral thesis. The hormone raises blood sugar, and researchers were interested in whether controlling or blocking it might help lower blood sugar levels.

Identifying GLP-1’s active form

In 1986, she published research showing GLP-1 in rat gut tissue. STAT News described her as the first person to determine the hormone’s active structure.

Evidence of insulin effects

Further tests found that GLP-1 stimulated insulin production and blocked glucagon secretion. Mojsov then made a large batch of synthetic GLP-1 for experiments involving rat pancreatic cells. A second paper, published in 1987, reported that the tests showed GLP-1 led to insulin secretion. Together, the findings helped establish the biological effects that made the peptide important to later research.

GLP-1’s reach today

The 2026 Gallup Health and Well-Being Index found that roughly 11 percent of Americans currently take a GLP-1 for weight loss, compared with 3 percent in 2024. The survey also reported 90 percent awareness of the medications. The figures mark a sharp rise in use and public awareness, while Mojsov’s work traces the science behind the peptide’s modern prominence back decades.