In 2020, HSCI faculty were recognized widely as leaders in the fields of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Here we highlight just a few representative examples.
Harrington Discovery Institute
Stuart Orkin, M.D., received the 2020 Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine. His breakthrough discoveries about red blood cells offer new treatments for patients with sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia.
LEO Foundation
Ya-Chieh Hsu, Ph.D., received the 2020 LEO Foundation Award, which recognizes extraordinary contributions to dermatology research that advance our understanding of skin diseases and pave the way for new and improved treatments.
National Institutes of Health
David Scadden, M.D., is part of a multi-institutional team that was awarded a $14.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The team is developing a potential cure for HIV using gene and cell therapy approaches, including Scadden’s pioneering technology for safer and more effective blood stem cell transplants.
Parkinson’s disease awards
Vikram Khurana, M.D., Ph.D., received awards from three organizations to advance his innovative research on Parkinson’s disease: the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, as part of the Ken Griffin Alpha-synuclein Imaging Competition; Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s; and the National Institutes of Health.
New York Stem Cell Foundation
José Ordovas-Montañes, Ph.D., was named a NYSCF –Robertson Investigator. His cutting-edge research focuses on how epithelial stem cells in barrier tissues — such as the airway, intestine, and skin — can “remember” inflammation.
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Four HSCI faculty members were awarded grants from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to expand the Human Cell Atlas, a global effort to map every cell in the human body: Allon Klein, Ph.D., for blood stem cells; Jonathan Seidman, Ph.D., and Christine Seidman, M.D., for the heart; and Jayaraj Rajagopal, M.D. for the lung.
American Lung Association
Carla Kim, Ph.D., received the Lung Cancer Discovery Award from the American Lung Association. Her innovative research uses lung organoids — 3D cultures derived from stem cells — to model the earliest stages of lung cancer and help identify new therapeutic targets.