The Michelson Prizes are scientific awards of $150,000 given annually to young investigators who are applying disruptive concepts and inventive processes to advance human immunology, vaccine discovery, and immunotherapy research across major global diseases.
Well done to our 2020 awardees: This year’s winners are Dr. Danika Hill, a research fellow at Monash University, and Dr. Michael Birnbaum, assistant professor at MIT. Their winning proposals demonstrated both innovation and the potential for high impact across disease areas and states. By thinking beyond conventions, they will contribute to the Human Vaccine Project’s grand vision of decoding the human immune system. We are proud to be able to support them on this path.
Danika Hill and Michael Birnbaum received their awards in a special two-hour event. This webinar connected the experts of today with the leaders of tomorrow: Pulitzer Prize winner Laurie Garrett gave her insights into the fight against the global crisis and Harvard professor Dr. Dan Barouch presented the latest data set published in Nature with his insights on the pandemic in the Global COVID Lab Meeting, where the Human Vaccines Project connects experts in the field to discuss the latest COVID-19 data. You can watch the full recording of the 2020 awards on YouTube.
The application window for the 2021 Michelson Prizes will open in September 2020 and prizes will be awarded in Summer 2021. Register below to be emailed when the application portal opens.
The 2021 Michelson Prizes will focus on transformative research in human immunology, with trans-disease applications to accelerate vaccine and immunotherapeutic discovery. We will be looking for high-impact and highly innovative research that has the potential to be applied across many diseases and to significantly expand our understanding of the human immune system.
A rigorous and competitive international search will identify the most innovative projects from young scientists working across a broad range of scientific fields. Proposals will be reviewed by a distinguished committee of internationally-recognized scientists. The review committee will be looking for research that challenges dogma, from researchers who clearly articulate a vision that demonstrates an ability to look beyond convention to make a lasting impact on vaccine and immunotherapy research. We encourage applications from the full spectrum of scientific disciplines related to immunology, vaccine, and immunotherapy research, including but not limited to:
Clinical Research
Biochemistry
Molecular Biology
Protein engineering
Computer science
AI/Machine Learning
Biophysics
Nanotechnology
Bioengineering
Microbiome
Register to be emailed when the application portal opens:
Ansuman Satpathy, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University
The initial application window for the 2020 Michelson Prizes is now closed. The Michelson Prizes are open to early-career researchers under 35 at the time of application, and will focus on human immunology, vaccine discovery and immunotherapy research.
Review our applicant FAQ below, download complete information about the prizes, or contact us at michelsonprizes@humanvaccinesproject.org.
Dr. Gary K. Michelson is a Board Certified Orthopedic Spinal Surgeon, with more than 900 issued patents worldwide. His work has revolutionized the practice of spinal surgery, making such procedures less invasive, less traumatic, safer, faster, and more effective. Alya Michelson is an accomplished journalist, who has written in, and been published in four different languages.
Together they support a broad array of philanthropic endeavors and operate three foundations that they founded and fund; including a medical research foundation, an education foundation, and an animal welfare foundation. Further information is available at michelsonmedical.org, 20MM.
