MADRID, May 28 -- Biochemists Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna were on Thursday named as the winners of the 2015 Princess of Asturias Awards for technical and scientific research as the result of their work studying the immune system of bacteria.

The jury concluded that Charpentier, who is French and her U.S. counterpart, Doudna have "have developed a genome-editing technology that enables the genome to be rewritten and defective genes to be corrected very economically with an unprecedented level of precision."

This research could offer great possibilities for the treatment of diseases such as cancer, cystic fibrosis and severe combined immune deficiency syndrome, among others.

The Princess of Asturias Awards, which aim to reward "the scientific, technical, cultural, social and humanitarian work carried out at an international level by individuals, institutions or groups of individuals or institutions," are the most prestigious in Spain.

The winners receive a certificate, a 50,000 euro cash prize (55,000 U.S. dollars) and a statue by artist Joan Miro, which are presented in a glamorous awards ceremony in the city of Oviedo in October.

They are given in eight different categories including arts, social sciences and sport.