The Albany Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research

Funder: Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research (funded by the Marty and Dorothy Silverman Foundation)

Geographic Scope: International (recognizes scientists worldwide)

Program Status: Active and ongoing (celebrating 21st anniversary as of 2022)

Focus Areas: Biomedical research, medicine, genetic discoveries with applications to human disease

Program Overview

The Albany Prize recognizes extraordinary and sustained contributions to improving health care and promoting innovative biomedical research. The prize is intended to encourage groundbreaking work with significant outcomes offering medical value of national or international importance.

Funding Commitment: The Marty and Dorothy Silverman Foundation dedicated $50 million in 2000 to award the prize annually for 100 years.

Research Focus Areas

• Cancer treatment
• Congenital diseases
• Neurological disorders
• Gene regulation and expression
• Epigenetics
• Immune system research
• Genome editing
• Stem cell science
• And other significant biomedical breakthroughs

Eligibility

• Scientists worldwide with sustained, groundbreaking research contributions
• Work must demonstrate significant medical value at national or international level
• Typically recognizes established researchers and professors at leading research institutions

Notable Achievements

• Nobel Prize Correlation: Three previous Nobel Prize winners have been among Albany Prize recipients; eight Albany Prize recipients have gone on to win the Nobel Prize, including:
  • James P. Allison, PhD (immune checkpoint blockade for cancer treatment)
  • Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD (stem cell research)
  • Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD (telomeres)
  • Bruce Beutler, MD and Ralph Steinman, MD (immune system discoveries)
  • Robert Lefkowitz, MD (cell receptors)
  • Emmanuelle Charpentier, PhD and Jennifer Doudna, PhD (CRISPR genome editing)

Contact Information

• Established: 2000
• Selection Committee Chair: Vincent Verdile, MD '84 (Dean Emeritus, Albany Medical College)
• Address: Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY