The New York Academy of Sciences is proud to recognize the Tata Sons Chairman as its most recent Life Governor.
Published December 5, 2025
By Nick Fetty
Nicholas B. Dirks (right), President and CEO of The New York Academy of Sciences, presents a Life Governor certificate to Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, during the Tata Transformation Prize ceremony in India on Dec. 5.
Natarajan Chandrasekaran (Chandra), Chairman of India-based Tata Sons, joins a distinguished group of changemakers who serve as Life Governors for the Academy.
The Academy’s Board of Governors approved Chandra’s appointment earlier this year. He was presented with a certificate recognizing the honor by Academy President and CEO Nicholas B. Dirks during a ceremony in Mumbai, India on December 5.
Prior to his appointment as a Life Governor, Chandra served on the Academy’s Board of Governors where he lent his expertise to help guide the Academy on strategic and business matters. With more than three decades of science and leadership experience, he’s overseen revenues that have exceeded $100 billion across more than 100 Tata operating companies. He promotes the “One Tata” strategy, which focuses on themes like simplification, scale, synergy, and sustainability.
This recognition adds to a long list of accolades for Chandra which also include:
In collaboration with Tata Sons, the Academy launched the Tata Transformation Prize in 2023. The Prize recognizes and supports the implementation at scale of high-impact research that drives innovation in scientific disciplines of importance to India’s societal needs and economic competitiveness. Tata Sons also support the Academy’s Shaping Science podcast.
Learn more about the Tata Transformation Prize and check back for more updates from the 2025 ceremony!
In partnership with the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development, the Academy recruits STEM professionals to act as mentors in the Afterschool STEM Mentoring Program (ASMP). ASMP mentors are then placed at one of our many afterschool sites around New York City.
The Education, Art & Culture: School/University category encompasses student-led initiatives or programs created at a high school, secondary school, elementary school, specialty school, technical school, college, university, or other school.
“While we continue to navigate social and political challenges and disruptions, the winners of the 5th annual Anthem Award are a reminder that when we are united in collective action, great change can happen and truly make an impact for the better,” said Patricia McLoughlin, Anthem Awards General Manager. “Join me in congratulating all the Anthem Awards winners for their continued leadership, commitment, and contributions in supporting everyday humans, and for moving society forward.”
About the Afterschool STEM Mentoring Program
The Afterschool STEM Mentoring Program deploys scientists into community based organizations and public libraries throughout NYC, with the goal of fostering a love of STEM in students grades K-8. These scientist volunteers are trained to serve as instructors, mentors, and role models, and are provided with a 10 week STEM curriculum to implement in the classroom. Through units varying from engineering to biology, students experience first-hand the joy of hands-on learning and exploration.
Through the Afterschool STEM Mentoring program, the Academy aims to increase access to high quality STEM instruction, create opportunities for students to build a STEM identity through access to diverse mentors, and provide students with authentic and meaningful STEM experiences.
ASMP has placed over 1,700 scientists into afterschool classes around NYC. Through hands-on activities, mentorship, and engaging discussions, students gain a deeper appreciation for the scientific process, its relevance to their everyday lives, and the diverse roles scientists play in society.
About The Anthem Awards
Launched in 2021 by The Webby Awards, The Anthem Awards honors the purpose & mission-driven work of people, companies and organizations worldwide. By amplifying the voices that spark global change, we’re defining a new benchmark for impactful work that inspires others to take action in their own communities. The Anthem Awards honors work across seven core causes: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging; Education, Art & Culture; Health; Human & Civil Rights; Humanitarian Action & Services; Responsible Technology; and Sustainability, Environment & Climate.
This season’s sponsors and partners include AARP, Virgin Hotels NYC, The Bloom, The Social Innovation Summit, Sustainable Brands, NationSwell, and TheFutureParty. The Anthem Awards were founded in partnership with the Ad Council, Born This Way Foundation, Feeding America, Glaad, Mozilla, NAACP, NRDC, WWF, and XQ.
From cancer-targeting nanorobots to sustainable biomanufacturing and climate-smart rice, this year’s Winners embody India’s transformational scientific spirit.
Mumbai, India | November 18, 2025 –The New York Academy of Sciences and Tata Sons today announced the Winners of the 2025 Tata Transformation Prize. Established to advance innovation and support visionary scientists in India developing breakthrough technologies to address India’s most significant societal challenges in Food Security, Sustainability, and Healthcare, the Tata Transformation Prize aims to generate improved quality-of-life outcomes and scale up the implementation of high-reward research for India and beyond.
Selected from a competitive pool of 212 nominations spanning 27 Indian states, the three Winners were chosen by an international jury of eminent scientists, clinicians, technologists, and engineers. Each Winner will receive INR 2 crores (approximately USD 228,000) to advance their research and scale its real-world impact. The Winners will be celebrated at an awards ceremony in Mumbai in December 2025. The jury, consisting of experts from leading academic, industrial, and governmental institutions across India, the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Australia, included representatives from IBM Research, Biocon, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the University of Messina (Italy), Murdoch University (Australia), the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, the National Institute of Advanced Studies, and the CSIR – Central Drug Research Institute.
Padubidri V. Shivaprasad, PhD, addresses one of India’s greatest challenges: feeding a population projected to reach 1.5 billion by 2050 amid shrinking farmland and worsening climate stress. His groundbreaking work uses epigenetic engineering and small RNA–based modifications in rice, India’s primary staple crop, to enhance stress tolerance and nutritional quality. By precisely altering the expression of key genes, Prof. Shivaprasad’s approach surpasses the limits of conventional plant breeding, which can be slow and unpredictable. His engineered rice varieties promise to reduce fertilizer and pesticide dependence, lower production costs, and improve nutrition for millions. Beyond India, this innovation offers a sustainable blueprint for staple crops worldwide in the face of global climate change.
India’s growing biomanufacturing sector urgently needs cleaner, cost-effective alternatives to traditional energy-intensive chemical synthesis methods. Balasubramanian Gopal, PhD, has developed a green chemistry platform that harnesses bioengineered E. coli bacteria to produce key chemicals used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and agriculture. Integrating artificial intelligence with experimental biology, his lab rapidly designs efficient enzymes and optimizes microbial strains for high yields, without antibiotics or harmful additives. This sustainable technology can replace traditional chemical manufacturing, thus reducing pollution, enhancing domestic production, and positioning India as a global leader in environmentally responsible biomanufacturing.
Ambarish Ghosh, PhD, is pioneering a breakthrough in cancer treatment using magnetic nanorobots – tiny, helical devices that can be safely guided through the body using magnetic fields. These nanorobots are designed to navigate complex biological environments, deliver drugs directly to tumors, and distinguish cancerous tissue from healthy cells. His team is also creating real-time imaging tools to track and steer the nanorobots during treatment. This technology promises more precise, less invasive cancer therapies with fewer side effects, with the potential to revolutionize cancer care worldwide and make advanced treatments more accessible and affordable in India and other low- and middle-income countries.
“The scientific advancements achieved by this year’s winners—creating climate-resistant crops, sustainable bio-manufacturing, and targeting cancer with fewer side effects—are the result of years of dedication and sacrifice. Their work is significant for India, and for humanity at large,” said N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons. “The Tata Group has long believed that science and technology pave the way for larger human progress, and we are proud to support this year’s winners in their endeavour to push the frontiers of excellence.”
“The Tata Transformation Prize celebrates scientific breakthroughs with the power to address pressing societal challenges while fostering economic progress and global impact. The 2025 Winners exemplify the power of Indian science to drive meaningful global change,” said Nicholas B. Dirks, President and CEO of The New York Academy of Sciences. “Their innovations span biology, engineering, and sustainability, reflecting the spirit of creativity and social purpose that this prize was designed to honour.”
About the Tata Transformation Prize
The Tata Transformation Prize was established in 2022 by Tata Sons, powered by The New York Academy of Sciences, to support breakthrough, innovative technologies that address India’s most significant challenges. By recognizing and supporting the implementation at scale of high-risk, high-reward research, the Prize will drive impactful innovation in scientific disciplines of importance to India’s societal needs and economic competitiveness. The Prize will leverage the exceptional potential of scientists in India to address critical national challenges in three categories—Food Security, Sustainability, and Healthcare—and generate improved life quality outcomes across India and beyond. The Tata Transformation Prize recognizes one Winner in each category, with INR 2 crores (approximately USD 228,000) for each Winner. Click here for more information about the Tata Transformation Prize.
About the Tata Group
Founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868, the Tata Group is a global enterprise, headquartered in India, comprising 31 companies across multiple verticals. The group operates in more than 100 countries across six continents, with a mission ‘To improve the quality of life of the communities we serve globally, through long-term stakeholder value creation based on Leadership with Trust’.
Tata Sons is the principal investment holding company and promoter of Tata companies. Sixty-six percent of the equity share capital of Tata Sons is held by philanthropic trusts, which support education, health, livelihood generation and art and culture.
In 2024-25, the aggregate revenue of Tata companies was more than $180 billion. These companies collectively employ over 1 million people.
Each Tata company or enterprise operates independently under the guidance and supervision of its own board of directors. There are 26 publicly listed Tata companies with an aggregate market capitalisation of more than $328 billion as on March 31, 2025.
Upcoming event will cover market impact, quantum’s evolution, industry influence, and more.
New York, NY (November 11, 2025) – As quantum computing has evolved from theory into practical applications, the business and private equity worlds are taking notice.
This will be the focus of a one-hour webinar, featuring experts from science and business, to take place beginning at 12 p.m. EDT on November 17. This expert panel will cut through the hype to explore where the technology stands, how it’s being applied in sectors like logistics and cybersecurity, and what to expect going forward. They will also examine how private equity and venture capital are investing in quantum and which industries are poised to benefit most.
Josh Lerner, Jacob H. Schiff Professor at Harvard Business School and Director of The Private Capital Research Institute (PCRI), will moderate the four-person panel. Panelists include:
Matthew Kinsella | CEO, Infleqtion
Reed Sturtevant | General Partner, The Engine Ventures
Bill McMahon, PhD | Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Minnow Venture Partners
Shahin Farshchi, PhD | Partner, Lux Capital
The roundtable will cover three pertinent matters within the realm of business and private equity:
Market impact: How the pace of development is influencing global markets and the role of private equity and venture capital in accelerating quantum breakthroughs.
Quantum’s evolution: Moving rapidly from theoretical physics to a transformative technology with real-world impact.
Industry influence: Reshaping sectors, driving innovation, and attracting major investment.
This session, sponsored by HMC Capital, is the second in a four-part series titled “Private Capital and Discovery: Strategic Investing in Scientific Innovation,” presented by The New York Academy of Sciences and PCRI. The series, sponsored by Ropes & Gray, is focused on fostering a broader understanding of the recent scientific and technological trends and their implications for private capital investors. These roundtables emphasize opportunities and challenges associated with marshaling the capital required to translate cutting-edge technologies into marketplace solutions.
Each roundtable will bring together a combination of scientific, investment, and business perspectives on a challenge associated with the commercialization of breakthrough science. These webinars are conducted and covered under Chatham House rule. Proceeding summaries will be made available to attendees after each event.
While the Academy excels in fostering scientific discovery and interdisciplinary collaboration, PCRI focuses on enhancing the understanding and impact of private capital investments. This collaboration allows for a unique intersection where cutting-edge scientific research meets strategic investment insights.
Both non-profit organizations seek to present substantive, fact-based research in a form that maximizes broad accessibility of these ideas and their applicability to the concerns of investors, business leaders, and policymakers, as well as influential intermediaries.
The final two events in the series will cover “The Roller Coaster of ClimateTech Investing” and “The Public Sector and ‘Tough Tech.’”
Based at Harvard Business School, the Private Capital Research Institute’s mission is to encourage research about private capital’s potential to be a constructive force to power economic development, innovation, and business transformation.
Three will be named Laureates and receive a $250,000 prize at a Gala Ceremony in New York City on October 7, 2025.
September 9, 2025 – New York – The Blavatnik Family Foundation and The New York Academy of Sciences today announced the Finalists for the 2025 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists. The Awards recognize scientific advances made by researchers in the United States across the following disciplines: Life Sciences, Chemical Sciences, and Physical Sciences & Engineering.
Subra Suresh, ScD, Former Director of the National Science Foundation and current President of the Global Learning Council in Switzerland, will announce the three 2025 Laureates at an October 7th awards ceremony at the American Museum of Natural History.
Each Laureate will receive an unrestricted award of $250,000, the world’s largest unrestricted science prize, available for early-career scientists in the U.S. The remaining 15 Finalists will each receive $15,000.
An independent jury of expert scientists selected this year’s Finalists from a pool of 310 nominees representing 161 academic and research institutions across 42 U.S. states. The 2025 Finalists are:
LIFE SCIENCES
Daniele Canzio, PhD, University of California, San Francisco (Neuroscience) – Recognized for uncovering how 3D genome folding generates unique identities for neurons, revealing new principles of brain wiring, and advancing our understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders.
Kaiyu Guan, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Agriculture & Animal Sciences) – Recognized for developing breakthrough technologies of remote sensing, modeling, and AI to drive sustainable farming, shape national policies, and power industry decarbonization in agriculture.
Philip J. Kranzusch, PhD,Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Harvard Medical School (Microbiology) – Recognized for discovering that human innate immunity evolved from ancient pathways in bacteria, explaining the molecular basis for how human cells defend against infections and cancer.
Elizabeth Nance, PhD, University of Washington (Biomedical Engineering & Biotechnology) – Recognized for engineering nanoparticles for brain delivery, pioneering living brain tissue models, and defining design principles to develop targeted, safe therapies for newborn and pediatric brain injury.
Tomasz Nowakowski, PhD, University of California, San Francisco (Neuroscience) – Recognized for mapping how human brain cells grow and specialize during development, offering critical insights into early brain formation and the origins of neurological disease.
Samuel H. Sternberg, PhD, Columbia University/Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Molecular & Cellular Biology) – Recognized for discovering programmable, RNA-guided enzymes from mobile genetic elements and pioneering their use in genome editing, gene regulation, and synthetic biology across diverse organisms.
CHEMICAL SCIENCES
Song Lin, PhD, Cornell University (Organic Chemistry) – Recognized for advancing electrochemical techniques that enable efficient, sustainable synthesis of complex organic molecules, accelerating drug development, and materials innovation.
Joseph Cotruvo, Jr., PhD, The Pennsylvania State University (Biochemistry & Structural Biology) – Recognized for discovering and engineering proteins that selectively extract rare earth elements, enabling sustainable recycling and purification of metals critical to technology supply chains.
Frank Leibfarth, PhD, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Polymer Chemistry) – Recognized for pioneering approaches to upcycle plastic waste and remove toxic ‘forever chemicals’ from water by developing reactions and catalysts that selectively control the structure and function of polymers.
Ryan Lively, PhD, Georgia Institute of Technology (Chemical Engineering) – Recognized for pioneering scalable membrane and separation technologies that will reduce industrial carbon emissions and energy use, transforming carbon capture and chemical purification worldwide.
Leslie M. Schoop, PhD, Princeton University (Inorganic & Solid-State Chemistry) – Recognized for pioneering quantum materials discovery by linking chemical bonding to unique electronic and magnetic behaviors, enabling breakthroughs in energy-efficient electronics, data storage, and quantum technology.
Yogesh Surendranath, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Inorganic & Solid-State Chemistry) – Recognized for pioneering molecular-level control of catalyst surfaces and electrostatic environments to revolutionize chemical reactions, enabling sustainable fuel production and significant reductions in carbon emissions.
PHYSICAL SCIENCES & ENGINEERING
Charlie Conroy, PhD, Harvard University (Astrophysics & Cosmology) – Recognized for advancing our understanding of the history of our galaxy’s formation, providing insight into how the Milky Way’s dark matter distribution is linked to its early history.
Nathaniel Craig, PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara (Theoretical Physics) – Recognized for deepening our understanding of what gives particles mass, and for paving the way forward for next-generation particle colliders.
Matthew McDowell, PhD, Georgia Institute of Technology (Materials Science & Nanotechnology) – Recognized for transformative developments in the understanding of solid-state battery internal interfaces, enabling key innovations and addressing challenges in their design.
Prateek Mittal, PhD, Princeton University (Computer Science) – Recognized for pioneering work powering the security and privacy of the internet, generating over 2.5 billion cryptographic certificates and securing more than 350 million websites.
Elaina J. Sutley, PhD, University of Kansas (Civil Engineering) – Recognized for comprehensive, systematic computer modeling and engineering to address disaster mitigation and recovery, informing building codes and disaster readiness policies across the country. This is the first year the Blavatnik Awards Finalists include a researcher from the University of Kansas.
Zhongwen Zhan, PhD, California Institute of Technology (Physical Earth Sciences) – Recognized for revolutionizing observational seismology through a unique utilization of fiber optic cables, enabling studies of tectonic, volcanic, glacial, and oceanic processes at unprecedented resolution.
Internationally recognized by the scientific community, the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists have been instrumental in expanding the engagement and recognition of young scientists and providing the support and encouragement needed to drive scientific innovation for the next generation. By the close of 2025, the Blavatnik Awards will have recognized over 500 scientists from 120 international research institutions and awarded prizes totaling nearly $20 million.
“The goal of the Blavatnik Awards is to recognize early-career scientists conducting bold and creative work, support their professional growth and development, and accelerate scientific discovery to improve lives and drive innovation,” said Len Blavatnik, Founder of Access Industries and Head of the Blavatnik Family Foundation.
Nicholas B. Dirks, President and CEO of The New York Academy of Sciences and Chair of the Awards’ Scientific Advisory Council, noted, “Congratulations to these 18 exceptional Finalists. From new tools and technologies for environmental sustainability and climate resiliency to novel therapies to cure disease and insights into the fundamental physics underpinning the world around us, their research is advancing science and protecting our planet.”
Since launching in 2014, scientists honored by the Blavatnik National Awards have received over $9 million in prize money.
Blavatnik scholars are driving economic growth globally by embarking on new scientific trajectories to pursue high-risk, high-reward scientific research. To date, Blavatnik Awards honorees have founded 50 companies after receiving the award, six of which are publicly traded and collectively valued at over $10 billion.
About the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, established by the Blavatnik Family Foundation in 2007 and independently administered by The New York Academy of Sciences, began by identifying outstanding post-doctoral scientists in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. In 2014, the Blavatnik National Awards were created to recognize faculty-rank scientists throughout the United States. In 2017, the Awards were further expanded to honor faculty-rank scientists in the UK and Israel.
For updates about the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, please visit blavatnikawards.org or follow us on X and Facebook @BlavatnikAwards.
About the Blavatnik Family Foundation The Blavatnik Family Foundation provides many of the world’s best researchers, scientists and future leaders with the support and funding needed to solve humankind’s greatest challenges. Led by Len Blavatnik, founder of Access Industries, the Foundation advances and promotes innovation, discovery and creativity to benefit the whole of society. Over the past decade, the Foundation has contributed over US$1.3 billion to more than 250 organizations. See more at blavatnikfoundation.org.
Yonatan Stelzer, PhD (Life Sciences) – Weizmann Institute of Science – Recognized for breakthroughs in modeling the intricate process of mammalian embryonic development and for advancing our understanding of epigenetics, holding significant promise for regenerative and therapeutic medicine.
Benjamin Palmer, PhD (Chemical Sciences) – Ben-Gurion University of the Negev – Recognized for pioneering research on how organisms create crystals, revealing the biological processes underlying their formation and the unique ways they interact with light, leading to the emerging field of organic biomineralization and inspiring sustainable optical materials.
Chaim Garfinkel, PhD (Physical Sciences & Engineering) – The Hebrew University of Jerusalem – Recognized for advancing our ability to predict climate change on timescales from months to decades, improving weather forecast systems and providing critical insights for climate policy and adaptation strategies.
The Blavatnik Awards recognize outstanding, innovative scientists at the early stages of their careers for their extraordinary achievements as well as their potential for future discoveries. The prizes are awarded to researchers aged 42 and younger for groundbreaking work in Life Sciences, Chemical Sciences, and Physical Sciences & Engineering.
The 2025 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in Israel will be conferred at a ceremony in June 2025 at the Peres Center for Peace & Innovation in Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists are the largest unrestricted prizes available to scientists in Israel aged 42 or younger. Since launching in 2017, scientists honored by the Blavatnik Awards in Israel have received US$2.7 million in prize money. Internationally recognized by the scientific community, the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists are instrumental in expanding the engagement and recognition of young scientists and providing the support and encouragement needed to drive scientific innovation for the next generation. By the close of 2025, the Blavatnik Awards will have recognized 540 scientists from 120 international research institutions and awarded prizes totaling nearly $20 million.
“The brilliant, young minds we honor with these awards are examples of the enormous ingenuity and creativity that has made Israel a powerhouse of scientific progress,” said Len Blavatnik, Founder of Access Industries and Head of the Blavatnik Family Foundation. “We are proud to celebrate their achievements and to support their continued success.”
ProfessorNicholas B. Dirks, President and CEO of The New York Academy of Sciences, said, “We are excited to see international representation in this year’s Laureates with our first Blavatnik Awards Israel Laureate from the UK. This international dimension highlights the global nature of scientific pursuit and collaboration in highly promising and vitally important interdisciplinary fields including epigenetics, biomineralization, and atmospheric science.”
Professor David Harel, President of The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities said, “Today we honor the exceptional achievements of Israel’s very best scientists. This is especially important at the present time, with Israel going through one of its worst periods, exacerbated by unprecedented obstacles for science, both here in Israel and in the US. In this light, we are even more grateful to the Blavatnik Family Foundation and The New York Academy of Sciences for our continued partnership in this endeavor. Maintaining Israel’s position at the forefront of global science, which is crucial for its security and economic stability, relies upon supporting and encouraging its scientists. We are proud to honor this year’s Blavatnik Awards Laureates, and we celebrate their innovative breakthroughs with confidence in the far-reaching, positive impact of their achievements on society at large.”
During the nomination period for the 2025 Blavatnik Awards, 36 nominations were received from seven universities across Israel. Members of the Awards’ Scientific Advisory Council – which includes Nobel Laureates Professors Aaron Ciechanover, David Gross and Sir Richard Roberts, along with former Chairman of the Israel Space Agency, Professor Isaac Ben-Israel – were also invited to submit nominations. Three juries, composed of distinguished leading scientists representing the three disciplinary categories and led by Israel Academy members, selected the 2025 Laureates.
Blavatnik scholars are driving economic growth globally by embarking on new scientific trajectories to pursue high-risk, high-reward scientific research. To date, Blavatnik Awards honorees have founded 50 companies after receiving the award, six of which are publicly traded and collectively valued at over $12 billion.
About the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists
The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, established by the Blavatnik Family Foundation in 2007 and independently administered by The New York Academy of Sciences, began by identifying outstanding post-doctoral scientists in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. In 2014, the Blavatnik National Awards were created to recognize faculty-rank scientists throughout the United States. In 2017, the Awards were further expanded to honor faculty-rank scientists in the UK and Israel. For updates about the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, please visit www.blavatnikawards.org or follow us on X and Facebook @BlavatnikAwards.
About the Blavatnik Family Foundation
The Blavatnik Family Foundation provides many of the world’s best researchers, scientists and future leaders with the support and funding needed to solve humankind’s greatest challenges. Led by Len Blavatnik, founder of Access Industries, the Foundation advances and promotes innovation, discovery and creativity to benefit the whole of society. Over the past decade, the Foundation has contributed over US$1 billion to more than 250 organizations. See more at www.blavatnikfoundation.org.
About The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities is Israel’s flagship scientific institution. It was established by law in 1961 and acts as a national focal point for Israeli scholarship in all branches of the sciences, social sciences and humanities. The Academy’s membership comprises 152 of Israel’s most distinguished scientists and scholars in its two divisions – the Natural Sciences Division and the Humanities Division. It is tasked with promoting Israeli scientific excellence, advising the government on scientific matters of national interest, publishing scholarly research of lasting merit and maintaining active contact with the broader international scientific and scholarly community. For more information about The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, please visit www.academy.ac.il.
New York, NY | April 29, 2025 — The New York Academy of Sciences and the Leon Levy Foundation have announced the 2025 class of Leon Levy Scholars in Neuroscience, extending a program that has fostered the work of over 180 neuroscience scholars since its launch in 2009.
This distinguished postdoctoral initiative supports outstanding early-career scientists conducting pioneering neuroscience research throughout New York City’s five boroughs. From a highly competitive applicant pool representing more than a dozen institutions citywide, ten scholars have been selected for a three-year fellowship as they continue their path toward becoming independent principal investigators.
Nicholas B. Dirks, the Academy’s President and CEO said, “Private funding for postdoctoral researchers has become increasingly vital as federal support for scientific research is cut. This is why we are so grateful to the Leon Levy Foundation for their support of emerging neuroscientists in pursuing innovative and high-risk research across New York City. The Leon Levy Scholars in Neuroscience program sustains our region’s research pipeline and ensures that young investigators can thrive, ultimately advancing the field of Neuroscience in ways that benefit science and society alike.”
The Scholars program includes both scientific and professional career development opportunities such as invitations to present at scientific scholar meetings, structured mentorship by distinguished senior scientists, and professionally led workshops on grant writing, leadership development, communications, and management skills. The program facilitates networking among cohorts and alumni, data sharing, cross-institutional collaboration, and the annual Leon Levy Scholars symposium held in the spring. The Leon Levy Scholars in Neuroscience is part of a series of prominent awards and scholarship programs that the Academy and its partners present each year to accomplished early-career and established scientists worldwide. These initiatives, along with education and professional development programs for students and young scientists, reflect the Academy’s broader commitment to strengthening and diversifying the pipeline for skilled and talented scientists globally.
The 2025 Leon Levy Scholars
Eyal Rozenfeld,PhD, NYU Langone Health, Neuroscience Institute
Recognized for: Identifying the neural mechanisms for territory formation in mice.
Matthew Eroglu, PhD, Columbia University, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Recognized for: Examining how nervous system specific nuclear structure supports neural function.
Veronika Kondev, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Recognized for: Identifying the neurobiological mechanisms underlying substance use disorder, with a focus on relapse behavior.
Yuta Mabuchi, PhD, Columbia University, The Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute
Recognized for: Studying the molecular and neuronal mechanisms underlying species-specific differences in parental behavior using Peromyscus (deer mice).
Ece Sakalar, PhD, New York University, Center for Neural Science
Recognized for: Deciphering the organization of thalamocortical circuits involved in thinking and decision-making.
Sreejan Kumar, PhD, Columbia University, New York University
Recognized for: Computational modeling of the neural mechanism by which the brain implements flexible, goal-directed behavior.
Aryeh Zolin, MD, PhD, Weill Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center
Recognized for: Examining how the pathology that drives neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s Disease is transmitted between neurons and spreads through neural circuits.
Yuki Haba, PhD, Columbia University, The Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute
Recognized for: Investigating the genomic and neurobiological bases of social recognition in the African naked mole-rat.
Francesco Limone, PhD, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Institute of Translation Neuroscience
Recognized for: Understanding the disruption of healthy neuron-astrocyte communication in neurodegenerative diseases.
Keshav Balaji Suresh, PhD, Columbia University, The Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior
Recognized for: Defining astrocyte-neuron interactions underlying the natural motor skill of birdsong.
About the Leon Levy Foundation
The Leon Levy Foundation advances the humanist values of understanding, appreciation, and preservation through grantmaking guided by the deep and diverse interests of Leon Levy and Shelby White. The Foundation supports work, primarily in New York City, that enhances cultural life, expands knowledge, and encourages exceptional achievement across a broad range of fields.
Concern about increasing screen time on mental health calls for creating “digital-free” spacesto mitigate rising levels of anxiety, depression and social isolation.
The authors broadly define an attention sanctuary as a wide range of already existing spaces and places such as libraries, churches, museums and school classrooms. Nationally, 77% of U.S. schools say they prohibit cellphones at school for non-academic use, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Drawing on the latest research and grassroots “Attention Activism”, the authors argue that the pervasive use of digital devices has led to unprecedented erosion of social and civil life, contributing to rising levels of anxiety, depression, and social isolation.
Key Findings and Recommendations:
The Attention Crisis: The article highlights the urgent need to address the harmful effects of the “attention economy,” where human attention is increasingly commodified by tech platforms through addictive design and data extraction, or “Human Fracking.”
Attention Activism: The authors introduce the concept of “attention activism,” a growing movement that seeks to resist the exploitative practices of the digital economy through education, organizing, and the creation of sanctuary spaces.
Attention Sanctuaries: The paper provides a detailed framework for establishing “attention sanctuaries”—spaces where communities can collectively cultivate and protect their attention. These sanctuaries, which can be implemented in schools, workplaces, and homes, are designed to foster meaningful human connection and reflection, free from the distractions of digital devices.
The authors emphasize that addressing the attention crisis requires a multi-pronged approach, combining grassroots activism, policy interventions, and community-driven initiatives. They argue that attention sanctuaries offer a practical and scalable solution to mitigate the negative effects of digital overload, promoting mental well-being and social cohesion.
“This is not just about limiting screen time,” says Burnett. “It’s about a participatory movement to create spaces where we can reconnect with ourselves and each other, free from the constant pull of digital distractions. Attention sanctuaries are a way to reclaim our humanity in an increasingly fragmented world.”
Eve Mitchell adds, “Attention activism is about more than individual self-control—it’s about collective action. By working together to create these sanctuaries, we can build a culture that values and protects our attention as an essential aspect of our individual and shared lives.”
The authors call for increased collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and community leaders to develop strategies that address the root causes of the attention crisis.
Abstract
While scientific consensus on the nature and extent of the harms attributable to increased use of networked screen media remains elusive, widespread expressions of acute concern among first-responders to the commodified-attention crisis (teachers, therapists, caregivers) should not be overlooked. This paper reviews a series of emergent strategies of collective attention activism, rooted in social practices of community action, deliberation, and consensus-building, and aimed at the creation of novel sanctuaries for the cultivation of new shared norms and habits regarding digital devices. Evidence suggests that such attention sanctuaries (and the formalization of the conventions for convening such spaces) will play an increasingly important role in addressing/mitigating the public health-and-welfare dimensions of societal-scale digital platforms. A copy of the full paper may be downloaded here.
About Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciencesis a 200+ year-old multidisciplinary journal publishing research in all areas of science. Each issue advances our understanding of the natural, social, and physical world by presenting novel and thought-provoking original research, reviews, and expert opinions. We encourage cross disciplinary submissions, with particular interest in neuroscience, organismal biology, material sciences, cell and molecular biology, psychology, medicine, quantum science, renewable energy, and climate science. Please visit us online at www.nyas.org.
About the Authors
D. Graham Burnett is a professor at Princeton University and a leading voice in the study of attention and its role in contemporary society. Eve Mitchell is a psychotherapist and a facilitator at the Strother School of Radical Attention, an innovative institution dedicated to exploring the science, history, and practice of attention.
Laureates honored at The Orangery, Kensington Palace
LONDON—March 4, 2025—The Blavatnik Family Foundation and The New York Academy of Sciences are proud to announce the 2025 Laureates of the prestigious Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK.
As the largest unrestricted prize for UK scientists under the age of 42, the Blavatnik Awards celebrate Britain’s greatest young minds in their fields. This year, the three Laureates—each awarded £100,000 (US$126,000) in unrestricted funds—were chosen from a shortlist of nine finalists, representing some of the brightest young scientific minds across the UK.
Among them, the three Laureates are tackling some of the most complex and pressing issues in science and society: infant mortality, green manufacturing and predicting long-term climate change.
Tonight’s prize-giving gala at The Orangery, Kensington Palace highlighted the growing impact of regional universities in driving scientific breakthroughs.
The winners of this year’s Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists (UK) are:
Life Sciences Laureate: Prof. Christopher Stewart (Newcastle University): Christopher leads a laboratory where groundbreaking research on microbiome-based therapies for pre-natal infant mortality is already making a life-saving impact.
Chemical Sciences Laureate: Prof. Liam Ball (University of Nottingham): Liam has transformed green manufacturing on an industrial scale, developing safer and more efficient methods of producing pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals with minimal environmental impact.
Physical Sciences & Engineering Laureate: Prof. Benjamin Mills (University of Leeds):Benjamin is transforming our understanding of climate change on earth and in space with revolutionary methods to predict long-term climate change. His research not only uncovers Earth’s climate history over billions of years, but also how other planets might evolve to support life.
“We created the Blavatnik Awards to honor promising scientists, early in their careers, where unrestricted financial support and public recognition will give them the confidence to take bold risks in their scientific research that address the world’s most complex and urgent scientific challenges,” said Len Blavatnik, Founder of Access Industries and the Blavatnik Family Foundation.
The Ceremony
The announcement was made at a black-tie gala, held this evening at The Orangery at Kensington Palace, hosted by Len and Emily Blavatnik and presented by Professor Shitij Kapur, Vice-Chancellor and President of King’s College London. Each Laureate shared their prize-winning research with the country’s leading figures in research, academia, business and the arts.
In his opening remarks, Professor Shitij Kapur, FMedSci, Vice-Chancellor & President of King’s College London and internationally renowned psychiatrist and neuroscientist, told this year’s honorees: “As pioneers in your fields – your voices count. And in your own way, taking your own steps, as King’s graduate Bishop Desmond Tutu says, ‘you can change the world.’ And that is what we will hear about tonight – how your science is changing the world.”
In his ceremony remarks, Nicholas B. Dirks, President and CEO of The New York Academy of Sciences and Chair of the Awards’ Scientific Advisory Council, commented on the program’s magnitude: “Since their inception, the Awards, administered by our Academy, have received close to 7,500 applications from over 450 research institutions across the US, the UK, and Israel. Over these 18 years, the Blavatnik Awards have recognized 540 scientists from 120 research institutions, a testament to the program’s growing international reach.”
Among the distinguished guests were 2014 Nobel Prize Laureate, Prof. John O’Keefe from University College London (UCL); 2019 Nobel Prize Laureate, Didier Queloz from the University of Cambridge and ETH Zurich; American-British business leader, Lady Lynn de Rothschild and Lord Maurice Saatchi; Former CEO of British Petroleum, Lord John Browne; President-Elect of the Royal Society of Medicine, Prof. Gillian Leng; Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Bristol, Prof. Evelyn Welch; President and Provost of UCL, Dr. Michael Spence; and Physicist and Chairman of the Giant Magellan Telescope, Dr. Walter Massey.
The Blavatnik Awards
The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists are the most substantial unrestricted awards available to UK scientists under the age of 42. Since their establishment, the Awards have recognized over 70 honorees from more than 100 research institutions. To date, the Blavatnik Awards have contributed more than £3.1 million (US$3.9 million) to UK research.
Blavatnik Awards honorees have gone on to found 50 companies, with six now publicly traded, collectively valued at over $12 billion. In total, Blavatnik Scholars have been granted over 7,300 patents. By the end of 2025, the Blavatnik Awards will have awarded nearly $20 million in prizes across their global counterparts in the UK, US, and Israel.
The Laureates
Life Sciences Laureate
Prof. Christopher Stewart
Microbiologist Christopher Stewart, PhD,Newcastle University, is a pioneer in global health, developing microbiome-based approaches to prevent necrotising enterocolitis (NEC), the leading cause of death in preterm infants. Stewart’s work revealed the role of human breast milk in shaping the gut microbiome in premature infants, by providing abundant sugars that serve as an energy source for beneficial bacterial species. Stewart has also established a novel premature gut organoid model and probiotic strategies to address NEC. This work is changing both local and global clinical practice, including clinical trials to improve infant nutrition and microbial-based therapy for premature infants in low-resource settings. Stewart is the first Blavatnik Awards Laureate from Newcastle University.
Chemical Sciences Laureate
Prof. Liam T. Ball
Organic Chemist Liam T. Ball, PhD, University of Nottingham, is transforming chemical synthesis by developing innovative tools for making pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals with reduced environmental impact. Ball’s pioneering work with bismuth, a non-toxic element, has enabled safer and more efficient herbicide development and drug production, including a streamlined process for the anticancer drug golvatinib. Ball has also made advancements in the synthesis of phosphine ligands, a critical tool for speeding up reactions through catalysis, making the process safer and more sustainable. By focusing on understanding reaction mechanisms, Ball’s work drives greener chemical processes, advancing medicine, agriculture, and sustainable manufacturing on an industrial scale.
Physical Sciences & Engineering Laureate
Prof. Benjamin J.W. Mills
BiogeochemistBenjamin J.W. Mills, PhD, University of Leeds, has pioneered advances in Earth Evolution Modelling that has allowed him and his research group to simulate Earth’s climate and surface processes over billions of years in order to understand the ancient history of Earth’s surface environment and our planet’s path to habitability. His techniques have significantly advanced our understanding of the Earth’s atmospheric processes and climate drivers. Mills’ foundational work can be readily applied to simulating the histories of atmospheric oxygen in exoplanets, paving the way for the search for other Earth-like planets. Mills is the first Blavatnik Awards Laureate from the University of Leeds.
All nine honorees, announced prior to the ceremony, were also recognized during the evening’s festivities.
Members of the public interested in learning more about the research of this year’s Laureates and Finalists are welcome to register to attend the free, public symposium: “Imagining the Impossible: UK Scientists Changing Our World,” in-person at the Royal Academy of Medicine on March 5, 2025, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm GMT/ 6:00 am to 11:00 am EST or online. Register HERE.
To follow the progress of the Blavatnik Awards, please visit the Awards’ website (www.blavatnikawards.org) or follow us on Facebook and X (@BlavatnikAwards).
Images from the ceremony and interviews with the Laureates are available upon request:
The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, established by the Blavatnik Family Foundation in 2007 and independently administered by The New York Academy of Sciences, began by identifying outstanding scientific talent in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. In 2014, the Blavatnik National Awards were created to recognize faculty-rank scientists throughout the United States. In 2017, the Awards were further expanded to honor faculty-rank scientists in the UK and Israel.
About the Blavatnik Family Foundation
The Blavatnik Family Foundation provides many of the world’s best researchers, scientists, and future leaders with the support and funding needed to solve humankind’s greatest challenges. Led by Sir Leonard Blavatnik, founder of Access Industries, the Foundation advances and promotes innovation, discovery, and creativity to benefit the whole of society. Over the past decade, the Foundation has contributed over US$1 billion to more than 250 organizations. See more at www.blavatnikfoundation.org.
The new publication will follow the same rigorous standards as traditional academic journals, and will foster interdisciplinary dialog and thoughtful innovation among emerging changemakers.
New York, NY | January 13, 2025 – Convergence, a new peer reviewed journal launched today by Indigo Research and The New York Academy of Sciences, will provide a platform for aspiring students in the humanities and STEAM, to publish their own work across a variety of genres including academic research, essays and opinion pieces.
Convergence, published in partnership with The New York Academy of Sciences, was founded on the principle that fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and innovation among emerging scholars will enable the development of future STEAM talent, crucial to solving global issues and advancing sustainable development. Convergence will also feature genres that allow students to express themselves to different audiences, building communication skills that are vital for building trust in science and experts in general.
As a double-blind peer-reviewed publication, Convergence will advance the most rigorous academic work produced by young scholars today. Its mission is to promote curiosity, critical thinking, and creative expression among the next generation of scholars and thinkers. Its rigorous standards are designed to ensure that all published research meets the highest standards of scientific inquiry, including ethical considerations, rigorous methodology, and appropriate data analysis techniques.
“The launch of this new journal is another step in the Academy’s mission to advance science by supporting and promoting diverse voices in the sciences,” said Meghan Groome, PhD, Senior Vice President, Education, The New York Academy of Sciences. “Our partnership with the Indigo Research team provides us with the perfect alliance to fulfill a critical need in professional development of young scientists.”
“Until now, the best and brightest high school students have lacked a venue to publish cross-disciplinary research that maintains the standards and practices of a professional academic journal,” said Gabe Gladstein, Founder of Indigo Research. “Working with thousands of these students over the past decade, I’ve seen the remarkable talent and innovation that exists globally in this age group. I’m proud that The New York Academy of Sciences is leading the charge to remove barriers, from age to institutional associations, that have limited access to publication and recognition for far too long. For students, the value of publishing in Convergence will be felt for years to come, activating and evidencing their intellectual curiosity and sparking an investigative passion that will last long into their careers.”
English-language submissions from students under 18 years of age are welcome on a rolling basis. Submissions may cover various disciplines, with particular interest in interdisciplinary work straddling both STEM and humanities topics. This includes Engineering, Medicine, Computer Science, Law, Politics, Humanities, Philosophy, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, and Mathematics. Manuscripts should be between 5,000-10,000 words and formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style. Comprehensive submission requirements are detailed in the submission guidelines.
Submitted manuscripts will be reviewed by an editorial board consisting of academic researchers who collectively share decades of experience in publishing and higher education. The editorial board will determine viability for peer review by experts in the related discipline of study. Authors who are selected to move forward with revisions will have one month to implement the recommendations made by the reviewers.
Accepted manuscripts will be copy edited and then reviewed as a complete issue by the editorial board prior to the publication of the journal. As with most academic publications, Convergence Journal has a table of submission fees which are waived in the case of financial need. More information may be found at: Convergence Journal.
Indigo Research is the premier provider of academic research mentorship for students in high school and college. With a curriculum designed by graduates of Harvard and Oxford, Indigo Research pairs students with a professor, or PhD teaching fellow at a top university to provide one-on-one guidance as they produce exceptional, publishable research, nurturing their intellectual curiosity and enhancing their academic profile in preparation for college, graduate school, and beyond. Please visit us online at: Indigo Research.
