A US-based chemist has been awarded one of Russia’s top science honours, prevailing over a competitive field of applicants from 40 nations, including some of the “strongest applications” from China, according to the prize chair.

Valery Fokin, a professor at the University of Southern California (USC), was awarded the Vyzov Prize in the Discovery category for inventing a reaction that redefined the concept of click chemistry and transformed molecular science and the chemistry of living systems.Last year, the honour was given to Nikos Logothetis – co-director and senior investigator at the Shanghai-based International Centre for Primate Brain Research – for his studies on human brain activity.

The Vyzoz Foundation said that the prize had solidified itself as a “truly global award” in an “inspiring move away from conflict and towards international scientific unity”.

“The international scope and the high calibre of laureates highlight the crucial importance of fostering cross-border scientific cooperation,” the foundation said on Friday.

Escalating global tensions, including those between the US, China and Russia, have affected scientific cooperation in recent years.