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2013 Blavatnik Regional Awards Gala and Cocktail Reception

On November 18th, The New York Academy of Sciences celebrated regional institutions and individuals who have made New York the newest, most vibrant international hub for groundbreaking science and technology, and honored the seven winners and five finalists of the 2013 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists.

Published November 18, 2013

By Diana Friedman

The 2013 Blavatnik Awards honorees were selected for their exceptional research from a pool of over 160 nominations submitted by 43 research institutions in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Winners and finalists received unrestricted cash prizes and were awarded with medals.

During the Academy’s Science & the City Gala, where the Awards ceremony was held, Richard Roberts, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1993), Chief Scientific Officer of the New England Biolabs, and Blavatnik Awards judge announced the national expansion of the Blavatnik Awards. Dr. Roberts spoke about the importance of recognizing and supporting young scientists.

“I am a great believer in and advocate for young people. In the current funding situation at NIH they often have a difficult time getting a grant to pursue independent research until they are past their prime. This is a great tragedy and one we need to correct. I hope the Blavatnik Awards will help young scientists get funding since it is a mark of their excellence that they otherwise wouldn’t have,” says Dr. Roberts.

Check out these photos from the gala:
2013 Blavatnik Awards honoree Bi-Sen Ding receiving his award
Len Blavatnik, head of the Blavatnik Family Foundation, with the 2013 Blavatnik Awards honorees
Mercedes Gorre, Executive Director of the Blavatnik Awards, congratulating 2013 honoree Xiankai Sun
Ruslan Medzhitov, Professor of Immunobiology at Yale University; Ellis Rubinstein, President & CEO at the New York Academy of Sciences; and Len Blavatnik, head of the Blavatnik Family Foundation
Ruslan Medzhitov, winner of the 2007 Blavatnik Awards and member of the Scientific Advisory Council, congratulating 2013 honoree Mariangela Lisanti

On Sunday evening, November 17th, the Blavatnik Family Foundation hosted a cocktail reception in honor of the winners and finalists (past and present), and judges of the Blavatnik Awards at The Metropolitan Club.

Check out these photos from the reception:
(From left to right) 2013 Blavatnik Awards honorees Kristjan Haule and Frans Pretorius with judge Mark Trodden
(From left to right) Blavatnik Awards judge Charles Schmuttenmaer, Dara Mao, and Blavatnik Awards honorees Andreas Keller (2008), Andrey Feklistov (2012), and Xiankai Sun (2013)
(From left to right) Ron Blei, Ann Marie Perl, with 2013 Blavatnik Awards honorees Assaf Naor (2012) and David Blei (2013)
Blavatnik Awards judges Dixie Goss and Pamela Stanley with Richard Stanley
Elza Erkip, 2010 Blavatnik Awards honoree and judge, with husband Mithat Gohen

To learn more about the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, visit blavatnikawards.org.


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