Presenters and recipients of the Mount Sinai Innovations Awards gathered at the ceremony to celebrate scientific achievements made at Mount Sinai.
Sixteen physicians, scientists, and students were honored for their creativity and biomedical discoveries at the first annual Mount Sinai Innovations Awards Ceremony, held on the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai campus.
“We are building a culture that encourages and supports innovation in medicine, and there is no better way to show how much we value this and spur more innovation than formally recognizing investigators for their outstanding work,” said Scott Friedman, MD, who opened the Awards Ceremony on Monday, October 26. “This culture will benefit our patients and the Mount Sinai Health System.”
Dr. Friedman is Dean for Therapeutic Discovery, Fishberg Professor of Medicine, Professor of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, and Chief, Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Mount Sinai Innovation Partners, which facilitates the application and commercialization of discoveries made throughout the Mount Sinai Health System and develops research partnerships, sponsored the inaugural Awards Ceremony. Co-sponsors included legal firm Jones Day, and the Icahn School of Medicine’s Office of Academic Development and Enrichment.
“In particular, we want to attract interest and recognize trainees, students, postdoctoral fellows, medical students, graduate students—anyone who’s learning and potentially will benefit a culture of innovation and discovery,” said Dr. Friedman.
The event kicked off the fourth annual SinaInnovations conference, which began on campus the following morning, spanning two days and featuring national experts in technology and clinical care who spoke about the future of digital medicine.
The new Innovations Awards were presented by Dr. Friedman; Lakshmi Devi, PhD, Dean for Academic Development and Enrichment; Basil Hanss, PhD, Interim Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Associate Professor, Medicine (Nephrology), Medical Education, and Structural and Chemical Biology; and Erik Lium, PhD, Vice President and Executive Director, Mount Sinai Innovation Partners.
Inventor of the Year Award
Peter Palese, PhD, Professor and Chair, Microbiology
Adolfo García-Sastre, PhD, Professor, Microbiology, Fishberg Professor, Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Director, Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute
Faculty Idea Prize
Manish Arora, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor, Preventive Medicine, Director, Division of Environmental Health
Hirofumi Morishita, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry, Neuroscience, and Ophthalmology
4D Technology Development Program Award
Jeffrey Newcorn, MD, Associate Professor, Psychiatry, and Pediatrics, Director, Division of ADHD and Learning Disorders
Juan Pedraza, MD, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry, Director, ADHD Track Clinic
Quod Erat Demonstrandum (Q.E.D.) Award
Susana Bardina, PhD candidate
Thomas Gardner, PhD candidate
Kathryn Harper, PhD candidate
Bridget Matikainen-Ankney, PhD candidate
Quod Erat Demonstrandum (Q.E.D.) Special Recognition Award
Gabriella Casalena, PhD, former Postdoctoral Fellow
Ilse Daehn, PhD, Assistant Professor, Medicine (Nephrology), The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine
Nicole C. McKnight, PhD, former Postdoctoral Fellow, Neurology
Merina Varghese, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Neuroscience
Yana Zorina, PhD, former Postdoctoral Fellow, Pharmacology