2020 Blavatnik Regional Awards for Young Scientists Announces Honorees During National Postdoc Appreciation Week

This year during National Postdoc Appreciation Week, the Blavatnik Regional Awards for Young Scientists announced the three Winners and six Finalists for 2020. Nicholas B. Dirks, the New York Academy of Sciences’ new President and CEO said: “Postdocs are the fuel running the engines of scientific research. We are incredibly proud to announce these outstanding postdoctoral Winners and Finalists of the 2020 Blavatnik Regional Awards, especially during National Postdoc Appreciation Week—a week dedicated to recognizing the significant contributions that postdoctoral scholars make to American research and discovery. The Academy, through administering programs for postdoctoral scientists such as the Blavatnik Regional Awards and Science Alliance, is committed to supporting these young investigators as they transition to the next stages in their career and beyond.”

The Awards received 154 outstanding nominations from 24 academic institutions in the New York metropolitan region (Tri-State area). A jury of distinguished senior scientists and engineers from leading academic institutions in the region selected three outstanding scientists as Winners, who will each receive a $30,000 unrestricted prize, and six Finalists who each will collect a $10,000 unrestricted prize.

Supporting outstanding scientists from academic research institutions across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut since 2007, the Blavatnik Regional Awards for Young Scientists recognize and honor postdoctoral researchers in three scientific disciplinary categories: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemistry.

The 2020 Blavatnik Regional Awards Winners

• Life Sciences: Antonio Fernández-Ruiz, PhD, nominated by New York University

Antonio Fernández-Ruiz has expanded our understanding of how neurons in the brain coordinate their activity to support our ability to form and recall memories. By uncovering the mechanisms of this coordinated activity in the brain, he was also able to alter how neurons are reactivated, demonstrating that memory can be improved artificially. Fernández-Ruiz will be transitioning to a tenure-track position at Cornell University in July, 2021. 

• Physical Sciences & Engineering: Adrian Price-Whelan, PhD, nominated by Flatiron Institute

Adrian Price-Whelan’s innovative use of advanced statistical analysis and computational techniques has unlocked one of the biggest mysteries of the universe—dark matter. 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.

• Chemistry: Ning Jia, PhD, nominated by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Ning Jia has unlocked key biological mechanisms that govern the function of enzymes 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 knowledge is necessary if we are to demonstrate that gene-editing can be used in the future to cure certain genetic diseases.

The 2020 Blavatnik Regional Awards Finalists:

Life Sciences

• Amelia Escolano, PhD, nominated by The Rockefeller University

Amelia Escolano was recognized for her groundbreaking HIV research, designing a novel immunization procedure that could lead to a vaccine against HIV-1. By sequentially exposing mice to several different forms of a protein found on the HIV-1 virus over a five month period, Escolano was able to train the immune system to make antibodies that neutralize a broad diversity of strains of the rapidly mutating HIV-1 virus.

• Marc Schneeberger Pané, PhD, nominated by The Rockefeller University

Marc Schneeberger Pané has discovered that a specific area of the brain usually associated with mood and wakefulness also controls energy balance and body weight by regulating feeding behavior and body temperature. Two types of neurons in this area are activated by different energy states (hunger, satiety) or with temperature challenges (heat). Importantly, activation of these neurons leads to strong effects in feeding or temperature regulation. As a result body weight is changed. Obesity is a disease in which energy balance is dysregulated, so this new finding offers promise for developing novel drugs to treat this chronic, widespread condition.

Physical Sciences & Engineering

• Zahra Abdollahnejad, PhD, nominated by University of Connecticut

Zahra Abdollahnejad was recognized for the design and development of green construction materials for buildings. Concrete is responsible for 4-8% of the world’s global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Through her development of specialized mixtures of environmentally-friendly concretes, mortars, and insulating foams, Abdollahnejad could significantly reduce the impact of concrete on global warming by a 50-90% carbon footprint compared to cementitious compositions, making newly constructed buildings more energy-efficient. She is also trying to develop sustainable construction materials with near-zero CO₂ emissions. Her work is re-shaping how the construction industry uses concrete, creating more sustainable buildings for our future.

• Shruti Puri, PhD, nominated by Yale University

Shruti Puri was recognized for her extraordinary theoretical discoveries in quantum information storage and quantum computing. In quantum computing systems, error (noise) is an obstacle to accuracy and computational advantage. Puri’s rigorous theoretical and mathematical treatment of error led to the discovery of a completely new way of storing information in microwave photons (quanta of light), known as the Kerr-cat quantum bit. Puri’s discovery makes the path towards scalable quantum computing technologies truly possible, by tailoring the errors affecting the quantum bit in such a way that they become relatively easy to correct. Puri has recently been promoted to a tenure-track position at Yale University.

Chemistry   

• Xianwen Mao, PhD, nominated by Cornell University

Xianwen Mao has developed a first-of-its-kind technique called COMPEITS (competition-enabled imaging technique with super-resolution) that allows for real-time optical imaging of non-fluorescent processes—processes that do not give off energy in the form of visible light. His groundbreaking technique allows for the visualization of various classes of non-fluorescent systems and processes, such as surface reactions, neurotransmitters, and chemical warfare agents—all with high resolution and under realistic conditions. This technique could be extremely useful in fields including neuroscience, materials engineering and nanotechnology, where many critical processes are non-fluorescent.

• Yifei Zhang, PhD, nominated by Columbia University

Yifei Zhang has uncovered the principles that govern the overall activity of enzyme cascade reactions—a sequence of successive chemical reactions naturally occurring in living cells. By understanding the interplay between reaction and transport, he has shown that it is possible to engineer cellular components to perform programmable and predictable functions in vitro, including the synthesis of small molecule drugs and therapeutics.

The 2020 Blavatnik Regional Awards Winners and Finalists will be honored alongside the 2020 and 2021 Blavatnik National Awards honorees on September 27, 2021, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

To learn more about this year’s Blavatnik Awards honorees, please visit the Blavatnik Awards website  and follow us on Facebook and Twitter: @BlavatnikAwards