For Young Scientists
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THE BLAVATNIK AWARDS For Young Scientists N E R AT I O N O T G E F S C E X I E N N T E I F H I C T G I N I N N V O I V R A D T I O N 2021 The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists honor exceptional young scientists and engineers by celebrating their extraordinary achievements, recognizing outstanding promise, and accelerating innovation through unrestricted funding. Table of Contents Key Features ..............................................................................................................................................4 Our History ................................................................................................................................................6 Blavatnik Regional Awards ...................................................................................................................8 Blavatnik National Awards .................................................................................................................10 Blavatnik Awards in the United Kingdom ......................................................................................12 Blavatnik Awards in Israel................................................................................................................... 14 Blavatnik Science Scholars ................................................................................................................. 16 In the News ............................................................................................................................................. 18 Tackling the COVID-19 Pandemic... ................................................................................................ 19 “Encouraging and supporting young scientists is essential if we are to successfully address society’s challenges. By honoring these young individuals and their achievements we are helping to promote the breakthroughs in science and technology that will define how our world Established by: Administered by: Blavatnik Awards in Israel, will look over the next century.” in collaboration with: LEN BLAVATNIK FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN BLAVATNIK 2 ACCESS INDUSTRIES AND BLAVATNIK FAMILY FOUNDATION FAMILY FOUNDATION 2 3 Key Features of A R G E 61% of Blavatnik Awards The Blavatnik Awards N T I honorees are immigrants N C A A I for Young Scientists Z to the country in which T E A A C they were recognized. U H O D R S Open to researchers working in more than 36 different R T C N E R P A A scientific and engineering disciplines in three categories: U SCIENCE L A L I E B I B R L A I I KNOWS NO M C O The Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists in A N L F U A Chemistry R S BORDERS O C IR A T I N R S C IA A A The Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists in R E IN I A B H D E G E C IN Physical Sciences & Engineering L E LA • • N R R A O I M US AD Y C E T A B CAN R C T A N ELGIUM GA O The Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists in H LY Y N R E G HU O R J RE M Life Sciences LA A ECE ONG N PA HONG K O D N XIC D S LEB ME AN • Recognize and support outstanding young scientists and • N ANON YSIA L EW • MALA PO engineers early in their careers when additional funding Z E IA R EAL STIN K and recognition have the greatest impact on their work. OM AND PALE VA A NIGERIA LO NI S A RE RUSS APO • Honorees are selected based on the quality, novelty, and IA SERBIA SING EA OR impact of their research, and their potential for further SLO H K VEN OUT significant contributions to science. IA SOUT FRICA S UK S H A Y PAI RKE N S TU • Offer the largest unrestricted prizes ever created WITZER AIWAN LAND T AN for early-career scientists. U KIST KRA UZBE INE URUGUAY USA • Connect alumni with a network of their peers throughout the world to foster collaboration. “Young scientists drive scientific discovery and innovation. They feel urgency and impatience. They think creatively and boldly. While we must support promising scientists at all levels, young “Past and present Blavatnik Scholars are some of scientists are a critical resource that we must nurture the top young scientists in the world. We are proud for the good of the whole scientific enterprise.” to celebrate them and their achievements, and to ERIC S. LANDER showcase their work to the world.” DIRECTOR, UNITED STATES OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY NICHOLAS B. DIRKS MEMBER, BLAVATNIK NATIONAL AWARDS PRESIDENT AND CEO SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COUNCIL NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 4 5 Our THE BLAVATNIK The Blavatnik National Awards are created to AWARDS 2014 honor faculty scientists 2016 CELEBRATE THEIR 2018 2020 History across the United States, and the first Laureates 10TH Blavatnik Scholars in Life Sciences, Physical ANNIVERSARY! The first international Blavatnik Awards are take on the COVID-19 Sciences & Engineering, pandemic, discovering and Chemistry are conferred, recognizing outstanding academic new ways to predict announced. Each Laureate and detect disease The Blavatnik Awards are created to faculty-level scientists and receives a $250,000 prize. spread, identifying celebrate the outstanding postdoctoral engineers in the United effective treatments, and 2007 and faculty scientists in New York, The Blavatnik Regional Kingdom and in Israel. researching new vaccine New Jersey, and Connecticut. Awards continue to honor postdoctoral scientists in technologies. New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. 2021 THE BLAVATNIK 2017 2018 AWARDS CELEBRATE THEIR The Blavatnik Family Foundation announces Three women are named 15TH ANNIVERSARY! expansion of the Blavatnik Awards to the United Blavatnik Regional Awards Kingdom and Israel. In Israel, the New York Winners, marking the first By the close of 2021, the The Blavatnik Family The Blavatnik Family Foundation Academy of Sciences collaborates with the time in Blavatnik Awards Blavatnik Awards will Foundation announces and the New York Academy of Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities history that the top prize have recognized 359 2012 doubling of the prize 2014 Sciences host the first annual in administering the awards. is concurrently awarded young scientists and money for Winners and Blavatnik Science Symposium. to female scientists in engineers and awarded Finalists starting in 2013. each of the three prizes totaling over disciplinary categories. US$11.9 million. 6 7 Meet the 2020 Blavatnik Awards 2020 Blavatnik Regional Winners NING JIA Regional Awards 2020 Regional Winner in Chemistry Southern University of Science and Technology in China (formerly at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) Ning Jia, PhD, has unlocked key biological mechanisms that govern the function of enzymes for Young Scientists and CRISPR-Cas systems, such as those used in gene editing. Jia’s research has provided scientists with an enhanced understanding of the functions and structure of individual atoms in biological molecules. In the case of her work on CRISPR-Cas systems, this detailed Acknowledge and celebrate the excellence knowledge is necessary if we are to demonstrate that gene-editing can be used in the of outstanding postdoctoral scientists future to cure certain genetic diseases. and engineers who work in New York, “If you want to have a career in the sciences, you have to enjoy science. Then, you will love spending New Jersey, and Connecticut. your time on it. My advisor Dinshaw Patel is a mentor for me, because his continuous passion in science inspires me.” Young scientists are nominated by research institutions across the New York region, and Winners and Finalists are selected by a group of senior scientists and engineers ADRIAN PRICE-WHELAN from institutions in this Tri-State Area. 2020 Regional Winner in Physical Sciences & Engineering Winners are awarded US$30,000 each and Flatiron Institute The innovative use of advanced statistical analysis and computational techniques by Adrian Finalists are awarded US$10,000 each in Price-Whelan, PhD, has unlocked one of the biggest mysteries of the universe—dark matter. unrestricted funds. Utilizing satellite data to analyze the motions of stars throughout the outer regions of the Milky Way, Price-Whelan’s work has provided the first clear evidence of dark matter substructure in the outskirts of our galaxy. “Mentorship is one of the most consequential endeavors we undertake as scientists. My own mentors have filled many different roles in my career, providing both scientific guidance and encouragement, and serving as important role models. We each deserve to have, and should be expected to provide, mentorship experiences that empower ourselves and our mentees to help all scientists become more equitable, inclusive, and successful.” ANTONIO FERNÁNDEZ-RUIZ 2020 Regional Winner in Life Sciences Cornell University (formerly at New York University) Antonio Fernández-Ruiz, PhD, has expanded our understanding of how neurons in the brain coordinate their activity to support our ability to form and recall memories. By uncovering ABOVE: 2018 Blavatnik Regional the mechanisms of this coordinated activity in the brain, Fernández-Ruiz was also able to Awards Winner in Physical Sciences alter how neurons are reactivated, demonstrating that memory can be improved artificially. & Engineering, Lingyan Shi. “Science is not just a job. It is a lifestyle, and an incredibly fulfilling one. Pursuing an academic career, nowadays, presents a path full of difficulties and obstacles, and what always gave LEFT: 2019 Blavatnik Regional Awards honorees with Brooke Grindlinger, me strength was to remember the initial motivation that drew me into science—the need to