(Press-News.org) For his contributions to the field of regeneration, Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado receives the Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science. The Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science is a $100,000 prize awarded annually by the Vilcek Foundation as part of its prizes program.
Awarded annually since 2006, the Vilcek Foundation prizes recognize and celebrate immigrant contributions to scientific research and discovery, and to artistic and cultural advancement in the United States. The prizes provide direct support to individual immigrant scientists and artists and help to raise greater public awareness of the value of immigration for a robust society. In 2023, the Vilcek Foundation awards four prizes in Biomedical Science, comprising the $100,000 Vilcek Prize and three $50,000 prizes—the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science.
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, molecular and developmental biologist Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado grew up using the scientific method to understand the things that fascinated him in the natural world. As a budding scientist, Sánchez Alvarado moved to the United States to pursue studies in molecular biology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Now a leader in the field of regeneration, he is the executive director and chief scientific officer of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, Missouri.
“Through the combination of rigorous research and new tools and technologies, Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado has worked to illuminate the important functions that epigenetics and signaling have on the process of regeneration,” says Vilcek Foundation Chairman and CEO Jan Vilcek. “His work has important implications on the understanding of cellular and organismal regeneration, and holds enormous promise for our further understanding of core biological concepts.”
Says Vilcek Foundation President Rick Kinsel, “Research Institutions in the United States have drawn scientists from around the globe, and many groundbreaking discoveries in research and development in biology, physics, and medicine have been by immigrant scientists. The perspective and insight that foreign-born scientists bring to research and development, and the value of diversity in seeking answers to science and medicine’s most perplexing questions, cannot be overstated.”
Sánchez Alvarado credits being an immigrant and being bilingual as having a profound impact on his work as a scientist, noting how the syntax interpretations of problems or ideas in two different languages—English and Spanish—help him to form more nuanced ideas and hypotheses. “Because every language is an interpretation of the universe, the more interpretations one has access to, the richer our comprehension of the world becomes,” he says.
He also reflects on the sacrifices that immigrants make to pursue the subjects and work they are passionate about in the United States. “We left everything behind to pursue an idea,” he says. “[We were] not looking for fame or fortune. [We] are looking for answers to questions.”
As part of the Vilcek Foundation’s prizes campaign, the foundation has published a biographical profile and video highlighting Sánchez Alvarado’s life and work on the Vilcek Foundation website, Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado: “Making the improbable possible.”
The Vilcek Foundation
The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation of the arts and sciences. The foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. The mission of the foundation was inspired by the couple’s respective careers in biomedical science and art history. Since 2000, the foundation has awarded over $7 million in prizes to foreign-born individuals and supported organizations with over $6 million in grants.
The Vilcek Foundation is a private operating foundation, a federally tax-exempt nonprofit organization under IRS Section 501(c)(3). To learn more, please visit vilcek.org.
END
Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado awarded 2023 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science
Born in Venezuela, developmental and molecular biologist Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado receives the $100,000 prize for his contributions to the field of regeneration.
2023-02-22
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Mapping DNA damage from exposure to a compound in cigarette, industrial smoke
2023-02-22
People are occasionally exposed to potentially harmful substances in the environment or through their diets or habits. For example, a compound found in cigarette and industrial smoke, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), is known to damage DNA. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have mapped these effects — down to the single-nucleotide level — for the first time in human lung cells after BaP exposure. They say that this technique could help predict exposures that lead to cancers.
When BaP gets into a person’s body and is metabolized, it can turn into a new compound, or metabolite, that irreversibly attaches to one ...
This new sensor can detect mercury ions with just a tap (video)
2023-02-22
Although many measures are in place to prevent contamination, pollutants, such as mercury and lead, can still end up in the environment. Sensing them often requires complicated processes, but what if you could detect them with the tap of a fingertip? Researchers reporting in ACS Nano have developed a self-powered nanosensor that can discover small amounts of mercury ions and immediately report the result. Watch a video of the nanosensor in action here.
Mercury in its Hg2+ form can be harmful if consumed through contaminated water or food, so researchers have developed various mercury sensors. One ...
UT Health San Antonio scientists tie obesity to Alzheimer’s-related genes
2023-02-22
SAN ANTONIO (Feb. 22, 2023) — In a new study, researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) link obesity with 21 Alzheimer’s disease-related genes, providing a potential mechanistic explanation for why Alzheimer’s is sometimes more frequent among adults who experienced obesity in midlife.
The findings from 5,619 participants of the Framingham Heart Study were published Feb. 22 in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association. The research team analyzed 74 Alzheimer’s-related genes from Framingham ...
Mount Sinai researchers discover key role of DNA methylation in Alzheimer's disease
2023-02-22
Mount Sinai researchers have published a study in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association that sheds new light on the role of DNA methylation in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study found that DNA methylation has a profound impact on gene and protein co-expression networks associated with AD and could lead to the discovery of new neuropathological processes and molecular mechanisms for developing novel treatments for the disease.
The study was conducted using a novel analytical approach to quantify the impact of DNA methylation on gene and protein expression and a large ...
New Cardinal Health report examines shifts in biosimilars industry
2023-02-22
DUBLIN, Ohio, Feb. 22, 2023 -- Today, Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) released its 2023 Biosimilars Report: Tracking market expansion and sustainability amidst a shifting industry, a publication that highlights provider perceptions, utilization and the latest market trends of biosimilars. The report assesses new and changing perspectives regarding some of the most disruptive biosimilars launched in the areas of immunology and ophthalmology, noting a growing familiarity of the medications among rheumatologists with 76% reporting being very familiar with the products, a 43% jump year-over-year. The research also reports high familiarity among gastroenterologists (81%) compared to ophthalmologists ...
Scientists use satellite images to study the degradation of rangelands in Tanzania
2023-02-22
East Africa’s iconic rangelands - under threat from climate change and human activity - have the potential to recover from repeated environmental shocks and degradation, a new study has concluded.
Covering 47% of the Earth’s land surface, rangelands are home to one third of the global population, many of whom are pastoralists who depend on the savannahs to meet their daily need for shelter, water and food.
But because rangelands develop in semi-arid areas and are primarily used for grazing, they are highly vulnerable to changes in rainfall and human pressures.
As part of the study, published ...
Population-scaled, school-based physical activity intervention can help prevent childhood obesity
2023-02-22
ROCKVILLE, Md.— A new Slovenian population-scaled, school-based study shows that by providing additional physical education lessons to young children is effective in preventing childhood obesity, according to findings published in Obesity, The Obesity Society’s (TOS) flagship journal.
“Our results show the importance of sustainable, long-lasting, physical activity programs set in schools for children’s health at both the individual and the population level. While this study analysed only the effectiveness of such program for obesity prevention, physical activity programs are likely to benefit ...
Children born after induced labour score lower in school tests 12 years later
2023-02-22
Inducing labour, in a low-risk pregnancy, can have long-term consequences on the child's cognitive development. Research from the Amsterdam UMC shows this based on pregnancy data and school performance at age 12 of 226,684 Dutch children. These results are published today in the journal AOGS.
By combining pregnancy data from the Dutch perinatal registration with data on school performance from Statistics Netherlands, researchers from Amsterdam UMC were able to study the potential effects of induced labour on school performance in low-risk pregnancies.
"We saw a small yet significant reduction in test scores for children born after ...
Which medications are best for treating acute low back pain?
2023-02-22
Acute low back pain is a common cause of disability. An analysis in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research examined which non-opioid drugs are best for treating this condition.
The analysis, which included all randomized controlled trials published to date (18 studies with 3,478 patients), showed that muscle relaxants and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) could effectively and rapidly reduce symptoms.
The combination of NSAIDs and paracetamol (also known as acetaminophen) was associated with a greater improvement than NSAIDs alone.
“This is a first step towards the optimization of the management of acute low back ...
How do companies’ climate change initiatives affect market value and greenhouse gas emissions?
2023-02-22
In an analysis published in the British Journal of Management that included 592 firms from 35 countries operating from 2002–2019, higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions were negatively associated with market value, whereas climate change initiatives were positively linked with market value.
Surprisingly, climate change initiatives were positively related to increased levels of greenhouse gas emissions. The presence of a board sustainability committee—which plays a crucial role in designing environmental initiatives and introducing best sustainability management practices—was also associated ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Exercise as an anti-ageing intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue
UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’
New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening
Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas
Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition
CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves
Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam
Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand
Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch
New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed
New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations
Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency
How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads
Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids
Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation
Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria
Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options
Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity
Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers
Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time
‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’
Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible
Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound
American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care
Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential
Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research
Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration
Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce
Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care
Resident physician intentions regarding unionization
[Press-News.org] Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado awarded 2023 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical ScienceBorn in Venezuela, developmental and molecular biologist Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado receives the $100,000 prize for his contributions to the field of regeneration.