BLAVATNIK AWARDS

The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists honor exceptional young scientists and engineers by celebrating their extraordinary achievements, recognizing outstanding promise, and accelerating

innovation through unrestricted funding.

For Young Scientists

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“Encouraging and supporting young scientists is essential if we are to successfully address society’s challenges. By honoring these young individuals and their achievements we are

helping to promote the breakthroughs in science and technology that will define how our world

will look over the next century.”

LEN BLAVATNIKFOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN

ACCESS INDUSTRIES AND BLAVATNIK FAMILY FOUNDATION

Table of ContentsKey Features ..............................................................................................................................................4

Our History ................................................................................................................................................6

Blavatnik Regional Awards ...................................................................................................................8

Blavatnik National Awards ................................................................................................................. 10

Blavatnik Awards in the United Kingdom ......................................................................................12

Blavatnik Awards in Israel................................................................................................................... 14

Blavatnik Science Scholars ................................................................................................................. 16

In the News ............................................................................................................................................. 18

Established by: Administered by: Blavatnik Awards in Israel, in collaboration with:

FAMILY FOUNDATIONBLAVATNIK

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Key Features of The Blavatnik Awardsfor Young ScientistsOpen to researchers working in more than 36 different scientific and engineering disciplines in three categories:

The Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists in Chemistry

The Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists in Physical Sciences & Engineering

The Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists in Life Sciences

• Recognize and support outstanding young scientists and engineers early in their careers when additional funding and recognition have the greatest impact on their work.

• Honorees are selected based on the quality, novelty, and impact of their research, and their potential for further significant contributions to science.

• Offer the largest unrestricted prizes ever created for early-career scientists.

• Connect alumni with a network of their peers throughout the world to foster collaboration.

“It has been my true honor to partner with visionaries such as Len Blavatnik, who understand that science and technology make this world better. I know that the impact of the Blavatnik Awards will only increase in the coming years.”

ELLIS RUBINSTEINPRESIDENT EMERITUS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

“As I get to know the scientists in the Academy’s network, I’ve discovered that past and present Blavatnik Scholars are some of the top young scientists in the world. We are proud to celebrate them and their achievements, and to showcase their work to the world.”

NICHOLAS B. DIRKSPRESIDENT AND CEONEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

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2012

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The Blavatnik Family Foundation announces doubling of the prize money for Winners and Finalists starting in 2013.

The Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences host the first annual Blavatnik Science Symposium.

Our History 2014

2014

The Blavatnik National Awards are created to honor faculty scientists across the US, and the first Laureates in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemistry are announced. Each Laureate receives a $250,000 prize.

The Blavatnik Regional Awards continue to honor postdoctoral scientists in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

The Blavatnik Awards are created to celebrate the outstanding postdoctoral and faculty scientists in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

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The Blavatnik Family Foundation announces expansion of the Blavatnik Awards to the United Kingdom and Israel. In Israel, the New York Academy of Sciences collaborates with the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in administering the awards.

2016THE BLAVATNIK

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10TH ANNIVERSARY!

2017 2018 2020

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The first international Blavatnik Awards are conferred, recognizing outstanding academic faculty-level scientists and engineers in the United Kingdom and in Israel.

Three women are named Blavatnik Regional Award Winners, marking the first time in Blavatnik Awards history that the top prize is concurrently awarded to female scientists in each of the three disciplinary categories.

By the close of 2020, the Blavatnik Awards will have recognized 321 young scientists and engineers and awarded prizes totaling over US$10.2 million.

60% of Blavatnik Awards honorees are immigrants

to the country in which they were recognized.

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2019 Blavatnik Regional Awards for Young ScientistsAcknowledge and celebrate the excellence of outstanding postdoctoral scientists and engineers who work in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Young scientists are nominated by research institutions across the New York region, and Winners and Finalists are selected by a group of senior scientists and engineers from institutions in this Tri-State Area. Winners are awarded US$30,000 each and Finalists are awarded US$10,000 each in unrestricted funds.

Meet the 2019 Blavatnik Awards Regional Winners

JUNTAO YE2019 Regional Winner in Chemistry Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China (formerly at Cornell University)

Juntao Ye, PhD, invented several new methods that allow for converting readily available chemicals into value-added and pharmaceutically relevant products in a highly efficient and economical manner, while reducing chemical byproduct waste. These methods could improve the efficiency of synthesizing complex and bioactive compounds, thereby accelerating the pace of drug discovery.

“My research is aimed at developing efficient, selective, and economical methods for the synthesis of value-added and pharmaceutically relevant compounds from readily available chemicals. My research goal is to develop new synthetic methods that accelerate the pace of drug discovery and lower the cost of pharmaceutical drugs.”

NETTA ENGELHARDT2019 Regional Winner in Physical Sciences & Engineering MIT (formerly at Princeton University)

Netta Engelhardt, PhD, researches the interface of general relativity and quantum field theory to answer complex questions about the fundamentals of our universe, including a remarkable explanation for the origin of black hole entropy. Her work strives to understand how the fabric of the universe at large scales is encoded in quantum gravity.

“It is an honor to be selected as a Blavatnik Awards honoree. I am very moved by the generosity of the Blavatnik Family Foundation in establishing these awards, and I am grateful that fundamental science conducted by early-career scientists is being recognized and acknowledged.”

LAURA DUVALL2019 Regional Winner in Life SciencesColumbia University (formerly at The Rockefeller University)

Laura Duvall, PhD, discovered two key molecules in mosquitos that inhibit blood-feeding and breeding. This discovery has worldwide implications for controlling mosquito populations and the spread of diseases such as dengue and Zika. At the time of nomination, Duvall was a trainee of the 2007 Blavatnik Regional Awards Faculty Winner, Leslie Vosshall, PhD, of The Rockefeller University.

“I love the creative side of science—having the freedom to follow up on an unexpected observation in the lab that leads us in a completely new direction or totally changes how we’ve been thinking about our experiments. Being wrong is often the first step to an even more exciting discovery.”

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2020 Blavatnik National Awards for Young ScientistsCelebrate America’s most innovative and promising faculty-rank scientists and engineers.

Nominations are accepted from US-based research institutions and the Blavatnik National Awards Scientific Advisory Council. Every year, one nominee in each category is named a Blavatnik National Awards Laureate and awarded US$250,000 in unrestricted funds, with additional nominees recognized as Finalists. Laureates and Finalists are selected by a jury composed of some of the United States’ most distinguished scientists and engineers.

“Every year we see an increasing pool of outstanding candidates emerge in the Blavatnik National Awards selection, and it is indicative of the kind of prestige and visibility these Awards have and continue to gain.”

ELAINE FUCHSNATIONAL MEDAL OF SCIENCE RECIPIENT REBECCA C. LANCEFIELD PROFESSOR OF MAMMALIAN CELL BIOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY CHAIR, 2020 BLAVATNIK NATIONAL AWARDS LIFE SCIENCES JURY

Meet the 2020 Blavatnik Awards National Laureates

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WILLIAM R. DICHTEL2020 National Laureate in Chemistry Northwestern University

William R. Dichtel, PhD, has pioneered methods to create novel, porous materials from simple, carbon-based building blocks. These materials can be easily designed and tailored to address specific needs and possess extremely high surface areas because they contain tiny holes—pores that can store, detect, and separate small molecules and ions. For example, he invented porous materials derived from corn that are now being used commercially to remove toxic substances such as industrial pollutants and pharmaceuticals from drinking water. He has also developed materials that show promise for new energy storage systems.

“It is a true privilege to tackle leading scientific problems while teaching and mentoring the next generation of young scientists. Together we will discover the world’s next great materials.”

CLIFFORD BRANGWYNNE 2020 National Laureate in Life SciencesPrinceton University

Clifford Brangwynne, PhD, has transformed the field of cell biology through a discovery that upends our understanding of the internal organization of cells. Brangwynne discovered that inside cells, biomolecules can merge to form liquid-like droplets that allow for the localization and compartmentalization of molecular interactions. The ability of these droplets to smoothly fuse and separate is critical for cell division and the development of embryos. Errors in this physical property may result in the formation of solid structures, such as the tangles and fibers found in Alzheimer’s disease, which can cause cell damage and death.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be chosen as a Blavatnik National Awards Laureate. The recognition of this new field at the interface of cell biology and soft matter physics inspires my lab to continue breaking the barriers separating scientific disciplines.”

BRIAN METZGER2020 National Laureate in Physical Sciences & Engineering Columbia University

Brian Metzger, PhD, has settled a long-standing question about the origin of gold and other heavy elements in the universe. He predicted that gold, along with all the stable elements on the lower part of the periodic table, was created in a collision of two merging neutron stars called a “kilonova”. In 2017, the LIGO gravitational wave observatory recorded the first observed kilonova explosion, and measurements taken following this discovery confirmed Metzger’s predictions. Indeed, the heaviest elements present in the universe, like gold, were created by such cataclysmic events. Metzger’s work has ushered in an exciting new era in astronomy that will revolutionize our understanding of the cosmos.

“What an incredible honor to be recognized by this Award, which uniquely elevates the work of young scientists. It’s an incredible realization that the precious metals in my wedding band were likely forged in the vicinity of a black hole.”

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2020 BlavatnikAwards for YoungScientists in theUnited KingdomRecognize and support outstanding young scientists and engineers working in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Talented young academic staff across the UK are nominated by their university or research institution, or by members of the Blavatnik Awards UK Scientific Advisory Council. Each year, one nominee in each category is named a Blavatnik Awards UK Laureate and awarded US$100,000 in unrestricted funds, with two Finalists in each category each receiving US$30,000 in unrestricted funds. Laureates and Finalists are selected by a jury of distinguished scientists based in the UK.

“There are many prizes for senior scientists often at a time when they don’t need them and frequently years after they’ve made their big discoveries. It is a really nice change to see scientists rewarded early in their career when they have many

great things ahead of them.”

SIR VENKI RAMAKRISHNAN NOBEL LAUREATE

PRESIDENTTHE ROYAL SOCIETY

MEMBER, THE BLAVATNIK AWARDS IN THE UK SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COUNCIL

Meet the 2020 Blavatnik Awards Laureates in the United Kingdom

TIMOTHY BEHRENS 2020 United Kingdom Laureate in Life SciencesUniversity of Oxford and University College London

Timothy Behrens, DPhil, seeks to solve a fundamental mystery of the brain: how do the electrical signals in our brain control our behavior? To do this, he builds computer models and measures brain signals in humans and animals. His research reveals basic knowledge about the human brain and has translational implications for how doctors are guided while performing brain surgery, how computer scientists design artificial intelligence systems, and how we research and treat mental and cognitive disorders.

”Being a scientist is like staying a kid all your life—every day is an adventure, and some days you discover something so cool you want to tell your mum about it. I feel very privileged to do it for a living. It is wonderful that the Blavatnik Family Foundation is supporting UK science, and I am completely thrilled and honored to be this year’s Laureate in Life Sciences.”

CLAUDIA de RHAM2020 United Kingdom Laureate in Physical Sciences & Engineering Imperial College London

Claudia de Rham, PhD, has completed a decades-old quest to construct a rigorous and viable theory of massive gravity—a theory of physics that modifies Einstein’s theory of general relativity to explain the nature of gravity. de Rham’s innovative solutions provide a potential explanation for why the universe is expanding faster and faster, and also has profound implications for the answers to other important questions in physics, such as the search for new types of particles in the universe.

“Cosmologists are spacetime explorers, pushing the boundaries of our knowledge and uncovering new physics at the interface between particle physics, gravity, and astronomy. As a cosmologist, I am truly honored to receive this Award and would like to thank all my collaborators.”

KIRSTY PENKMAN2020 United Kingdom Laureate in ChemistryUniversity of York

Kirsty Penkman, PhD, leads a research program that has made tremendous advances in our ability to accurately date ancient fossils. A variety of methods currently exist for dating ancient objects, but beyond approximately 50,000 years, dating is very challenging. By carefully refining a technique called amino acid racemization, Penkman has extended this upper limit and successfully dated fossils more than 3 million years old, opening up a time window to help scientists better understand human evolution and climate change.

“Having always loved chemistry, but also been fascinated by the past (both our human history and that of our Earth), I feel enormously lucky to be able to combine both in my work. My research focuses on the analysis of fossil biomolecules: their pathways of degradation, methods for their detection, and how these molecules can inform us of an organism’s life and death history. I am tremendously honored by this Blavatnik Award, and it is thanks to my wonderful collaborators who have been integral to this research. Working closely with Earth scientists and archaeologists has helped push the analytical science forward, whilst advancing our understanding of our Earth’s history.”

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2020 BlavatnikAwards for YoungScientists inIsraelCelebrate and support outstanding young faculty-rank scientists in Israel.

Each year, one nominee in each category is named a Blavatnik Awards Israel Laureate and awarded US$100,000 in unrestricted funds. Nominations are accepted from all universities in Israel and from the Blavatnik Awards Israel Scientific Advisory Council. Laureates are selected by a jury of world-recognized researchers working in Israel.

The Blavatnik Awards in Israel are administered jointly by the New York Academy of Sciences and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

“Each of this year’s winners demonstrate their outstanding merit, their passion for pushing the frontiers of scientific discovery, and their bright future as part of a new generation of pioneering Israeli scientists.”

NILI COHEN PRESIDENT THE ISRAEL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

Meet the 2020 Blavatnik AwardsLaureates in Israel

GUY ROTHBLUM2020 Israel Laureate in Physical Sciences & EngineeringWeizman Institute of Science

Guy Rothblum, PhD, develops critical solutions to address security and privacy issues associated with the deployment of modern computing methodologies such as cloud computing and machine learning—issues that have become important societal concerns as these technologies become widespread. His work has not only advanced our understanding of the fundamental limitations of these methodologies, but also influenced the development of new algorithms and protocols in these fields. He is known for his theory that enables one to efficiently verify the results of sensitive computations outsourced to untrusted cloud computers, and his algorithm that protects individual privacy in statistical analysis and machine learning.

“Can we harness the power of modern computing without compromising individuals’ privacy or control over their own data and computations? It’s a privilege to work on such fascinating questions and a great honor to be recognized by this Award.”

IGOR ULITSKY2020 Israel Laureate in Life SciencesWeizman Institute of Science

Igor Ulitsky, PhD, works to uncover the biology of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), a class of genetic material implicated in genome regulation that is often dysregulated in human disease. Understanding how, when, and where lncRNAs are active in our bodies has major implications for the development of novel regenerative medicines and disease treatments. Unlike canonical RNA molecules, lncRNAs do not contain information for making proteins. Instead, their main function is to control gene expression. Discovering how lncRNAs function is critical for revising basic principles of genetics and has implications for the development of novel disease therapies targeting cancer, brain injury, and epilepsy.

“We have today an incredible ability to read genomes, but we do not understand the vast majority of what is written in them. Our work focuses on some of the least accessible chapters in the book of DNA, which are challenging and fascinating.”

EMMANUEL LEVY2020 Israel Laureate in ChemistryWeizman Institute of Science

Life processes involve an intricate choreography between tens of millions of protein building blocks that form the infrastructure of a cell. Understanding how these protein building blocks assemble and work together is an extraordinarily complex task due to the huge number of potential interactions. Emmanuel Levy, PhD, has revealed protein hot-spots, where mutations frequently trigger new assemblages. His findings suggest that these assemblages emerge frequently during evolution, both in health and disease. Additionally, Levy has developed a range of computational and biochemical methodologies for grasping the molecular infrastructure of living cells.

“Receiving the Blavatnik Award is an immense honor, encouraging me to pursue my work with the ambition that in the future, it will be possible to grasp the inner workings of a cell to atomic detail. I am most grateful to my present and past group members for their amazing ideas and hard work, to my mentors and colleagues for their continuous and inspiring support, and to my family for providing what life is all about, beyond the molecules.”

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2007FACULTY WINNERSLéon BottouGeorge Malliaras Ruslan Medzhitov Milan Stojanovic Leslie B. Vosshall

FACULTY FINALISTSAntje Baeumner Christoph Bregler Geoffrey CoatesAntonio Giraldez Tarun Kapoor Scott Keeney Philip Kim Colin Nuckolls Kathryn Uhrich

2008FACULTY WINNERSSteve Gubser Laura Landweber Tom Muir

FACULTY FINALISTSDaphne BavelierGeoffrey CoatesChristine Jacobs-WagnerEric Lai Kenneth Shepard Saeed Tavazoie

POSTDOCTORAL WINNERSAndrew Houck Andrey Pisarev

POSTDOCTORAL FINALISTSAlexei Aravin Matthew Evans Valerie Horsley Andreas Keller Shobha Vasudevan

2009FACULTY WINNERSPaul ChirikCarmala Garzione

Rebecca Oppenheimer Shai Shaham

FACULTY FINALISTSTamas Horvath Lam HuiDaniel Sigman Denis Zorin

POSTDOCTORAL WINNERSSreekanth Chalasani Ofer Feinerman Eva Pastalkova Alexander Pechen

2010FACULTY WINNERSSong-Hai Shi Zoltan Haiman Michal Lipson Evgeny Nudler

FACULTY FINALISTSElza Erkip David Evans Neal Weiner

POSTDOCTORAL WINNERSYaron Lipman Haitao Liu Daniela Schiller

POSTDOCTORAL FINALISTSNicolas Reyes Agnel Sfeir

2011FACULTY WINNERSJohannes Gehrke Szabolcs Márka

FACULTY FINALISTSRobert Anderson Charalampos KalodimosJun Korenaga Olga TroyanskayaGerard Wysocki

POSTDOCTORAL WINNERSFranck Oury Valentino Tosatti

POSTDOCTORAL FINALISTSRoberto Bonasio Mary Kay Lobo Shaun Olsen Ruth Van De Water

2012FACULTY WINNERSAndrei Bernevig Jason Fridley Alison Galvani Assaf Naor

FACULTY FINALISTSMichael Collins Wei Min

POSTDOCTORAL WINNERSAndrey Feklistov Michael Hahn Robert Johnston Elisa Oricchio Nicholas Stavropoulos

2013FACULTY WINNERSDavid BleiKristjan Haule Patrick Holland Samie Jaffrey Frans Pretorius

POSTDOCTORAL WINNERSJonathan Fisher Rachel Rosen

POSTDOCTORAL FINALISTSBi-Sen Ding Emily Hodges Mariangela Lisanti Jason MacGurn Xiankai Sun

2014US NATIONAL LAUREATESAdam CohenMarin SoljačićRachel Wilson

US NATIONAL FINALISTSPhil BaranHelen Blackwell Garnet ChanChristopher ChangHoward Chang Peng ChenYi Cui Ruben GonzalezAli HajimiriPatrick HopkinsAli JaveyJonathan Kagan Ali KhademhosseiniRob KnightHarmit Malik Sarkis Mazmanian Teri OdomAydogan OzcanMichael RapeLeonardo RastelliMelanie SanfordWilliam ShihMichael StranoAlice TingSinisa Urban Peng YinMartin Zanni

REGIONAL WINNERSClément HonglerJeremy Palmer Panteleimon Rompolas

REGIONAL FINALISTSStephen Brohawn Dilek ColakNathaniel CraigKnut DrescherXiaowei HouJérémie Palacci

2015US NATIONAL LAUREATESChristopher ChangEdward ChangSyed Jafar

US NATIONAL FINALISTSPhil BaranBianxiao CuiYi CuiMatthew DisneyXiangfeng DuanMichael FischbachEric FordMarkus GreinerRustem IsmagilovJonathan KaganAli KhademhosseiniRob KnightNevan KroganHakho LeeHening LinYueh-Lin LooHarmit MalikLuciano MarraffiniAydogan OzcanAbhay PasupathyMichael RapeJared RutterMelanie SanfordMichael StranoAlice TingAshvin VishwanathPeng YinFeng ZhangYi Zuo

REGIONAL WINNERSHani GoodarziArash Nikoubashman Nicolás Young

REGIONAL FINALISTSAllyson Friedman Xiang GaoJinzhong LinYang LiuDennis PerepelitsaZiv Shulman

Blavatnik Science ScholarsIn the fourteen years since its launch, the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists program has built an exceptional network of honorees whose members together represent one of the most dynamic, innovative, and cross-disciplinary communities in the world.

2016US NATIONAL LAUREATESPhil BaranDavid CharbonneauMichael Rape

US NATIONAL FINALISTSAndrea AlùAlexei BorodinGarnet ChanXin ChenYi CuiMatthew DisneyPieter DorresteinCasey DunnMichael Fischbach David Ginger, Jr.Antonio GiraldezJenny GreeneJulia GreerBo HuangSergei V. KalininRob Knight Nevan KroganTeri OdomAydogan OzcanOliver RandoAntonina Roll-MecakPardis SabetiBeth ShapiroAmit SingerEdward ValeevAnastasia VolovichLeor WeinbergerFeng Zhang

REGIONAL WINNERSWilliam AndereggJian LiTomoyasu Mani

REGIONAL FINALISTSXi ChenMatthieu GagnonKate MeyerRachel PerryEli VisbalKuang Yu

2017US NATIONAL LAUREATESYi CuiMelanie SanfordFeng Zhang

US NATIONAL FINALISTSAndrea AlùMatthew BeckerNicholas DauphasWilliam DichtelMatthew DisneyMohamed El-Naggar

Michael FischbachNathan GianneschiAntonio GiraldezJulia GreerChristy HaynesMark HersamBo HuangSergei V. KalininJure LeskovecStavros LomvardasFranziska MichorCeleste NelsonBradley PenteluteAntonis RokasPardis SabetiMichael StranoDmitri TalapinTommaso TreuBenjamin TuAnastasia VolovichGleb Yushin

REGIONAL WINNERSJune HuhAndrew IlottChao Lu

REGIONAL FINALISTSAlan HealyChia Wei (Wade) HsuWilhelm PalmEunyong ParkAtaman SendoelDouglas Stanford

2018ISRAEL LAUREATESCharles Diesendruck Anat Levin Oded Rechavi

UNITED KINGDOM LAUREATESM. Madan Babu Andrew GoodwinHenry Snaith

UNITED KINGDOM FINALISTSTimothy BehrensJohn BriggsClaudia de RhamRobert HiltonAndrew Levan Philipp Kukura

US NATIONAL LAUREATESJanelle AyresNeal K. DevarajSergei V. Kalinin

US NATIONAL FINALISTSAndrea AlùEmily Balskus

Alexandra BoltassevaEdward BoydenClifford BrangwynneLuis CamposBianxiao CuiMircea DincăXiangfeng DuanJonathan FortneyNeil GargChristy HaynesRyan HaywardBo HuangJure LeskovecZachary LippmanYing Shirley MengBrian MetzgerFranziska MichorJoseph MougousCeleste NelsonBradley PenteluteJoseph SubotnikBenjamin TuAnastasia VolovichEmily WeissGene YeoGleb Yushin

REGIONAL WINNERSShruti NaikLingyan ShiLu Wei

REGIONAL FINALISTSSamuel BakhoumNiankai FuLucia GualtieriPeter SchaussPriyanka SharmaZhe Zhang

2019ISRAEL LAUREATESMoran BercoviciErez BergMichal Rivlin

UNITED KINGDOM LAUREATESPhilipp KukuraKonstantinos NikolopoulosEwa Paluch

UNITED KINGDOM FINALISTSTimothy BehrensGustav HolzegelIgor LarrosaKathy NiakanMáire O’NeillRachel O’Reilly

US NATIONAL LAUREATESEmily BalskusHeather J. LynchAna Maria Rey

US NATIONAL FINALISTSAndrea AlùClifford BrangwynneChiara DaraioWilliam DichtelXiangfeng DuanViviana GradinaruMohammad HafeziChristy HaynesIve HermansLiangbing HuMichael JewettJeremiah JohnsonSubhash KhotJure LeskovecYing Shirley MengBrian MetzgerWei MinJoseph MougousSeth MurrayNicholas NavinDavid NicewiczMohammad R.

SeyedsayamdostJoseph SubotnikBenjamin tenOeverBenjamin TuEmily WeissNieng YanGene Yeo

REGIONAL WINNERSLaura DuvallNetta EngelhardtJuntao Ye

REGIONAL FINALISTSDerya AkkaynakIgor DikiyCarla NascaLiling WanMatthew YankowitzYaping Zang

2020ISREAL LAUREATESEmmanuel LevyGuy RothblumIgor Ulitsky

UNITED KINGDOM LAUREATESTimothy BehrensClaudia de RhamKirsty Penkman

UNITED KINGDOM FINALISTSIan ChapmanMatthew FuchterStephen GoldupEleanor StrideAmaury TriaudEdze Rients Westra

US NATIONAL LAUREATESClifford BrangwynneWilliam DichtelBrian Metzger

US NATIONAL FINALISTSAditya AkellaAndrea AlùPolina AnikeevaLuis M. CamposCory DeanGuangbin DongNeil K. GargElena GrachevaViviana GradinaruKristen GraumanMohammad HafeziMohammad HajiaghayiLiangbing HuSun HurPrashant K. JainCigall KadochSubhash KhotMaureen D. LongJulius B. LucksHoura MerrikhWei MinSeth MurrayAydogan OzcanGary J. PattiRyan A. ShenviEmily A. WeissNieng YanJoel Yuen-Zhou

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BlavatnikScience ScholarsIn the NewsHeather Lynch discovers that the population of chinstrap penguins in Antarctica has declined by 77% in the past 50 years. Time | February 10, 2020 The Times | February 11, 2020 National Geographic | February 11, 2020 Al Jazeera | February 10, 2020 Bloomberg | February 11, 2020

Viviana Gradinaru discovers that disruptions in gut proteins may contribute to Parkinson’s disease. BioWorld | February 19, 2020 Parkinson’s News Today | February 24, 2020

Alison Galvani advises Senator Bernie Sanders in developing the Medicare for All Act. Washington Post | February 20, 2020

David Charbonneau attends a congressional hearing discussing new telescopes in Hawaii. The New York Times | March 13, 2020

Emily Balskus utilizes bacterial enzymes as a new target for antibiotics. The Fairs News | March 18, 2020 Technology Networks | March 18, 2020 Science Daily | March 17, 2020

Nevan Krogan and his team discover existing drugs that could be used to treat COVID-19. The New York Times | March 22, 2020 Scientific American | March 20, 2020 Nikkei Asian Review | April 8, 2020

Feng Zhang and a team from Pinterest launch the self-reporting COVID-19 tracking app, “How We Feel”. TechCrunch | April 2, 2020 The New York Times | April 1, 2020

Matthew Fuchter creates chiral molecules and electronic materials with novel properties. Chemistry World Today | April 29, 2020

Nathan Gianneschi and his team create a synthetic melanin-based hair dye that is safer than chemical dyes. SciTechDaily | May 11, 2020

BLAVATNIK FAMILY FOUNDATION The Blavatnik Family Foundation is an active supporter of world-renowned

educational, scientific, cultural, and charitable institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, and throughout the world. A 501(c)(3) private

foundation that is exclusively self-funded, over the past decade it has contributed more than $700 million to more than 250 charitable institutions worldwide.

Donations are highly concentrated to drive meaningful impact and to promote innovation in science, engineering, and technology that will benefit the whole of society. The Foundation focuses on select institutions leading the way in early-

stage discovery vital to scientific and health-related breakthroughs. The Foundation is headed by Len Blavatnik, a global industrialist and philanthropist

who received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1989. Blavatnik is founder and chairman of Access Industries, a privately-held industrial group

based in the US with global strategic interests in natural resources and chemicals, media and telecommunications, real estate, venture capital/technology, entertainment, biotechnology, and selected external funds.

See more at www.blavatnikfoundation.org.

NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES The New York Academy of Sciences is an independent, not-for-profit organization that since 1817 has been committed to advancing science, technology, and society worldwide. With more than 20,000 Members in 100 countries around the world,

the Academy is creating a global community of science for the benefit of humanity. The Academy’s core mission is to advance scientific knowledge, positively impact the major global challenges of society with science-based solutions, and increase

the number of scientifically informed individuals in society at large.

Please visit us online at www.nyas.org and follow us on Twitter at @NYASciences.

THE ISRAEL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities is the preeminent scientific

institution in Israel. 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 comprises 132 of Israel’s most distinguished scientists and scholars who operate in two divisions—the 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.

Please visit us online at www.academy.ac.il and follow us on Twitter @IsraelAcademy.

“Such significant declines suggest that the Southern Ocean’s ecosystem is fundamentally changed from 50 years ago and that the impacts of this are rippling up the food web to species like chinstrap penguins.”

HEATHER J. LYNCH2019 BLAVATNIK NATIONAL LAUREATE ON THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON ANTARTICA’S PENGUIN POPULATIONSPEAKING TO TIME MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 10, 2020

ABOVE: 2015 and 2016 Blavatnik National Awards Finalist, Nevan Krogan, PhD, along with his collaborators, has identified 69 existing drugs and experimental compounds that may be effective in treating COVID-19.

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Blavatnik AwardsYoung Scientists

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