Vilcek Foundation announces open call for $150,000 in prizes to immigrant scientists

The Vilcek Foundation will award three Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise of $50,000 each to rising immigrant scientists in 2024.

2023-03-01

(Press-News.org) In 2024, the Vilcek Foundation will award three Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science of $50,000 each. The prizes recognize and celebrate the contributions of rising immigrant scientists in the United States whose work represents a significant contribution to their field. The Vilcek Foundation is hosting an open call for applications for the 2024 prizes; applications will be accepted through June 12, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. ET.

The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise are a part of the Vilcek Foundation Prizes program. Awarded annually since 2006, the Vilcek Foundation Prizes are given each year in two primary categories: biomedical science, and a rotating category in the arts and humanities. The Vilcek Foundation Prizes honor the contributions of immigrants to science, medicine, and the arts, and raise awareness of the value of immigration for a robust society.

“The American Immigration Council reports that immigrants and foreign-born individuals are widely represented in STEM fields in the United States, making up 30.8% of all physical scientists and 27.7% of life scientists,” says Vilcek Foundation President Rick Kinsel. “By highlighting the impact that immigrants have on science and society, we recognize the importance of immigration for medicine, academic research, and scientific advancement in the United States.”

“Immigrating to the United States has provided scientists with the opportunity to freely pursue the subjects they are passionate about, and to collaborate openly with others in their fields,” says Jan Vilcek, chairman and CEO of the Vilcek Foundation. “With the Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Biomedical Science, we honor exceptional immigrant scientists who are pioneering new research methods and making important discoveries that benefit humanity.”

Past recipients of the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science include Ibrahim Cissé, Hani Goodarzi, Viviana Gradinaru, Harmit Malik, Silvi Rouskin, and Feng Zhang.

Recipients of the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise each receive an unrestricted cash award of $50,000 and a commemorative certificate. Prize recipients are also celebrated in a media campaign published by the Vilcek Foundation highlighting their scientific accomplishments and life experiences.

Candidates must have been born outside the United States to non-American parents, and be living and working in the United States. Eligible candidates for the 2024 Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science must hold a doctoral degree, and must currently be employed as a principal researcher with an academic institution or an accredited scientific research organization. DACA recipients and asylum seekers are strongly encouraged to apply.

Full application details and eligibility requirements are available at the Vilcek Foundation and at vilcek.org. Please direct questions about the application process or the Vilcek Foundation Prizes to Chief Program Officer Shinnie Kim at creativepromise@vilcek.org.

The Vilcek Foundation

The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation for 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 has 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

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

Vilcek Foundation announces open call for $150,000 in prizes to immigrant scientists 2

Vilcek Foundation announces open call for $150,000 in prizes to immigrant scientists 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Through the eye of the beholder: Researchers find people with autism process illusory shapes differently

2023-03-01

There is this picture – you may have seen it. It is black and white and has two silhouettes facing one another. Or maybe you see the black vase with a white background. But now, you likely see both. It is an example of a visual illusion that reminds us to consider what we did not see at first glance, what we may not be able to see, or what our experience has taught us to know – there is always more to the picture or maybe even a different image to consider altogether. Researchers are finding the process in our brain that allows us to see these visual distinctions may ...

Mulching time of forest meadows influences insect diversity

2023-03-01

Mulching is a possible management method for forest meadows and is important to their upkeep. During the process, the meadow is cut and the cuttings are shredded and left on the meadow. Despite its significance, the effects of this method on insects living in this habitat has rarely been studied up to now. Dr. Maria M. Georgi of the team working with the head of the University of Freiburg’s Chair of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology – Prof. Dr. Alexandra-Maria Klein, and her colleagues studied this in-depth. The result: ...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bacteria produce a molecule that paralyzes immune system cells

2023-03-01

Bacteria of the species Pseudomonas aeruginosa are antibiotic-resistant hospital germs that can enter blood, lungs and other tissues through wounds and cause life-threatening infections. In a joint project, researchers from the Universities of Freiburg and Strasbourg in France have discovered a mechanism that likely contributes to the severity of P. aeruginosa infections. At the same time, it could be a target for future treatments. The results were recently appeared in the journal EMBO Reports. Many bacterial species use sugar-binding molecules called lectins to attach to and invade host cells. Lectins can also influence the immune response to bacterial infections. However, these ...

Ice Age survivors

2023-03-01

The team analysed the genomes of 356 prehistoric hunter gatherers from different archaeological cultures – including new data sets of 116 individuals from 14 different European and Central Asian countries. Modern humans began to spread across Eurasia around 45,000 years ago but previous research showed that the first modern humans that arrived in Europe did not contribute to later populations. This study focuses on the people who lived between 35,000 and 5,000 years ago and that are, at least partially, the ancestors of the present-day population of Western Eurasia, including – for the first time – the genomes of people who lived during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the ...

Deforestation in the tropics linked to a reduction in rainfall

2023-03-01

Projected deforestation in the Congo could result in a 12% reduction in rainfall Study provides “compelling evidence” to protect forests Deforestation is resulting in reduced rainfall across large parts of the tropics, according to new research. People living in tropical forest communities have often complained that the climate gets hotter and drier once trees are cleared but until now, scientists have not been able to identify a clear link between the loss of tree cover and a decline in rainfall. A research team at the University of Leeds combined satellite data of deforestation and rainfall to show ...

Quantum chemistry: Molecules caught tunneling

2023-03-01

Tunneling reactions in chemistry are very difficult to predict. The quantum mechanically exact description of chemical reactions with more than three particles is difficult, with more than four particles it is almost impossible. Theorists simulate these reactions with classical physics and must neglect quantum effects. But where is the limit of this classical description of chemical reactions, which can only provide approximations? Roland Wester from the Department of Ion Physics and Applied Physics at the University of Innsbruck has long wanted to explore this frontier. “It requires an experiment that allows very precise measurements and ...

New study could help pinpoint hidden helium gas fields – and avert a global supply crisis

2023-03-01

Helium – essential for many medical and industrial processes – is in critically short supply worldwide. Production is also associated with significant carbon emissions, contributing to climate change. This study provides a new concept in gas field formation to explain why, in rare places, helium accumulates naturally in high concentrations just beneath the Earth’s surface. The findings could help locate new reservoirs of carbon-free helium – and potentially also hydrogen. Research led by the University of Oxford could help overturn the current supply crisis of helium, ...

Unique alcohol avoidance program is associated with lower death rates

2023-03-01

A statewide alcohol-monitoring program that requires people arrested for drunk driving and other alcohol-involved offenses to be tested frequently for alcohol use can reduce the likelihood that participants die for several years after their involvement with the program, according to a new RAND Corporation study. Analyzing results from South Dakota’s 24/7 Sobriety Program, researchers found that those arrested for drunk driving who participated in 24/7 Sobriety had on the order of a 50% lower risk of dying during the study period compared to those arrested for drunk driving who did not participate in the program.. The results are published in the latest edition of the ...

Outcomes of women undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery

2023-03-01

About The Study: The results of this study of more than 1.2 million patients indicate that women remain at significantly higher risk for adverse outcomes following coronary artery bypass grafting and no significant improvement has been seen over the course of the last decade. Further investigation into the determinants of operative outcomes in women is urgently needed. Authors: Mario Gaudino, M.D., Ph.D., M.S.C.E., of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2022.8156) Editor’s Note: Please see the ...

Reexamining time from breast cancer diagnosis to surgery

2023-03-01

About The Study: This case series study using the data of 373,000 patients from the National Cancer Database found that time from breast cancer diagnosis to surgery of greater than eight weeks was associated with worse overall survival. Time to surgery of greater than eight weeks may partly be associated with disadvantageous social determinants of health. Authors: Heather B. Neuman, M.D., of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2022.8388) Editor’s ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researchers discover universal law of quantum vortex dynamics

AI analysis of ancient handwriting provides new age estimates for Dead Sea Scrolls

As many as 1 in 5 women with a history of pregnancy or testing for pregnancy report using crisis pregnancy centers across 4 US states

Six decades of data on North Atlantic phytoplankton reveal that their biomass has decreased up to 2% annually across most of the Atlantic Ocean, with potentially widespread implications for the wider

GPT-generated educational materials for urological cancer patients, translated by AI into five languages, are rated by doctors as easier to read than human-authored versions while being just as clear,