The phrase "a major precursor" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe something that significantly precedes or contributes to another event or development.
Example: "The discovery of penicillin was a major precursor to modern antibiotics, revolutionizing medicine."
Alternatives: "a significant forerunner" or "a key predecessor".
The only other Oscar nominee to win a major precursor award is Woody Harrelson ("The Messenger"), but his came from the National Board of Review, a nice feather but a bad omen.
Andriessen's fusion of Stravinsky, minimalism, and a proletarian spirit was a major precursor to the hard-edged Bang on a Can aesthetic; in 2011, he told the Times that "of the founders of Bang on a Can, Julie looked the most quiet and polite, but her music was actually the sharpest and most aggressive".
Despite coming out in the summer, F Gary Gray's hip-hop drama has maintained an incredible amount of momentum going into awards season, netting a Screen Actors Guild nod for best ensemble, which serves as a major precursor for a best picture nomination.
These studies have found that sulphur compounds are a major precursor of acid rain.
Neonatal cerebral white matter injury represents a major precursor for neurological impairment and cerebral palsy.
Citrulline is a major precursor of arginine by de novo synthesis in the kidneys.
For her devastating performance as a kidnapped mother in Room, Larson, like DiCaprio, has won every major precursor award, including a Bafta, Golden Globe, and SAG award.
Bloch, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and his Harvard colleagues discovered that cholesterol's major precursor is acetic acid, a two-carbon molecule.
DMSP is also the major precursor to dimethylsulphide (DMS), a biogenic gas which has been linked to local climate regulation through the formation of atmospheric aerosols and subsequent cloud development [ 35, 36].
In adults, vitellogenin is a major yolk precursor with pleiotropic effects [13], [14].
Worsening insulin resistance, in concert with impaired insulin secretion, is a major physiological precursor of type 2 diabetes.
