The Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance is dedicated to playing a catalytic role in accelerating cures for cancer by enabling the pursuit of the most innovative and advanced cancer research and by facilitating collaborations between science and business.
The Prize for young investigators provides early-stage funding opportunities to New York scientists with innovative ideas in cancer research. The program surrounding the Prize is a catalyst in bridging the gap between the academic scientific community and the business community.
SIDI CHEN, PHD
CHRISTINE IOK IN CHIO, PHD
MARCIN IMIELINSKI, MD, PHD
LILIAN KABECHE, PHD
ELENA PISKOUNOVA, PHD
XUEBING WU, PHD
COLD SPRING HARBOR LABORATORY — Normal cells usually have multiple solutions for fixing problems. For example, when DNA becomes damaged, healthy white blood cells can use several different strategies to make repairs. But cancer cells may “put all their eggs in one basket,” getting rid of all backup plans and depending on just one pathway to mend their DNA. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Professor and 2016 Pershing Square Sohn Prize winner Christopher Vakoc focuses on probing cancers to figure out if they have any unique dependencies. His lab was surprised to discover that a single DNA repair method remained in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an aggressive cancer that originates in bone marrow. They discovered that if they shut down that pathway in cells grown in the laboratory, they could kill the cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed.
The Prix Galien recognizes outstanding innovation to improve the human condition by means of biomedical research. It is considered the industry’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize, the highest accolade for biomedical research and development. The annual Galien Forum is a meeting-of-the minds at which pressing issues are debated by front-runners in industry, academia and government. This is a special opportunity for recipients of the Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research to spend time with such leaders.
Pershing Square Sohn Prize winners, Scientific Review Council members, and guests which included individuals from philanthropy, academia, industry, and business attended this year’s Forum at the Alexandria Center for Life Science in New York City. The event featured talks by executives from the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical industries, as well as top academics and government representatives. Following the Forum, select guests were invited to attend the Prix Galien Awards Ceremony at the American Museum of Natural History.
Bill Ackman, Co-Founder. The Pershing Square Foundation