Endorsements

  • “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 scientists are a critical resource that we must nurture for the good of the whole scientific enterprise.”

    —Eric Lander, Director of the Broad Institute of Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • “The Blavatnik Awards program is very important as it recognizes the potential impact of our research. It identifies emerging scientific thought leaders and highlights their work to the broader scientific community. It is a wonderful stimulus for a young scientist that increases self-confidence to pursue his or her dreams.”

    —Elisa Oricchio, 2012 Blavatnik Awards winner and Research Fellow of the Cancer Biology & Genetics Program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

  • “A lot of effort and thought has gone into the design of the program, and the choice of recipients. The focus on young people and on forming bonds that go beyond simple monetary reward is deliberate, and I think inspired.”

    —Frank Wilczek, Nobel Laureate, Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • “There are a few awards for young scientists, but almost all of them are based on proposals that you submit, and not on the actual work that you do as a young scientist. The Blavatnik Awards program is true recognition of the work of young scientists; it is unique in that sense. There is no equivalent.”

    —Michal Lipson, 2010 Blavatnik Awards faculty winner, MacArthur Fellow, and Given Foundation Professor at Cornell University

  • “I am very enthusiastic about this concept. For me the winner is not so important. The value lies in acknowledging that our young are the creative thinkers and the best role models for our students.”

    —Regis Kelly, Director, California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences

  • “Many breakthroughs come from people working on the fringes of their subject. Interdisciplinary science ensures that this is happening, because it is often unexplored territory.”

    —Richard Roberts, Nobel Laureate, Chief Scientific Officer of New England Biolabs

  • “In contrast to the proliferation of awards aimed at renowned senior scientists, the Blavatnik Awards will recognize the value of empowering scientists when they are young and can benefit from early recognition.”

    —Torsten Wiesel, Nobel Laureate, President Emeritus of The Rockefeller University, and Chairman Emeritus of the New York Academy of Sciences