The Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Biomedical Science celebrate the contributions of immigrant scientists to biomedical research and discovery in the United States
The Vilcek Foundation has announced the recipients of the 2021 Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Biomedical Science. Ruth Lehmann, director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research is the recipient of the 2021 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science. The 2021 Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science are presented to Mohamed Abou Donia, Ibrahim Cissé, and Silvi Rouskin.
Awarded annually, the prizes honor the foundation’s mission of raising awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fostering appreciation of the sciences. The Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science is awarded to a prominent foreign-born scientist with a demonstrated legacy of major accomplishments and contributions to the biomedical sciences. The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise honor young biomedical scientists whose early-career work demonstrates an innovative approach and represents a significant contribution to their field of study.
“The outstanding diversity of thought and innovation that immigrant scientists bring to the United States cannot be overstated,” says Jan Vilcek, chairman and CEO of the Vilcek Foundation. “The United States has long been a beacon for scientists from around the globe, and many groundbreaking discoveries made in research laboratories in this country have been wrought by immigrant scientists.”
Detailed profiles and video interviews with each of the 2021 Vilcek Foundation Prizewinners in Biomedical Science can be found on the Vilcek Foundation website. Highlights about each of this year’s prizewinners and their accomplishments are included below. We congratulate all four of these outstanding scientists on their achievements and look forward to what comes next from each of them.
Ruth Lehmann
2021 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science
Ruth Lehmann is a developmental geneticist and cell biologist, and the director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Born in Cologne, Germany, Ruth discovered her love of research science and genetics while studying ecology on a Fulbright fellowship at the University of Washington in 1978. Ruth receives the Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science for her foundational contributions to the understanding of primordial germ cells and the germ cell life cycle, and for her institutional leadership in the field.
Prizewinner profile: http://vilcek.co/vfp2021ruthlehmannnihn
“Photo courtesy of Gretchen Ertl”.
Mohamed Abou Donia
2021 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science
Mohamed Abou Donia receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for demonstrating the potential of the human microbiome as a source of novel drugs and uncovering the basis of microbiome-driven drug metabolism. Born in Ismailia, Egypt, Mohamed is an associate professor and director of the Donia Lab at Princeton University. Mohamed knew he wanted to pursue a career in research science after taking a summer research internship in the United States while studying pharmacy at Suez Canal University.
Prizewinner profile: http://vilcek.co/vfp2021mohamedaboudonianihn
“Photo courtesy of The Vilcek Foundation”
Ibrahim Cissé
2021 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science
Ibrahim Cissé is a professor of physics at CalTech. Born in Niger, he receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for the development of single-molecule and super-resolution approaches to study the dynamic nature of gene expression in living cells—including protein clustering, biomolecular condensation in transcription, and other processes.
Prizewinner profile: http://vilcek.co/vfp2021ibrahimcissenihn
“Photo courtesy of The Vilcek Foundation”
Silvi Rouskin
2021 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science
Silvi Rouskin is the Andria and Paul Heafy Whitehead Fellow at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. The Bulgarian-born molecular biologist receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for developing methods to unravel the shapes of RNA molecules inside cells and aiding the potential development of RNA-based therapeutics for viral diseases.
Prizewinner profile: http://vilcek.co/vfp2021silvirouskinnihn
“Photo courtesy of The Vilcek Foundation”