Jerusalem, April 3, 2023 – The Blavatnik Family Foundation, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the New York Academy of Sciences announced today the Laureates of the 2023 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in Israel. This year’s Laureates, who will each receive $100,000, are:
- Shai Carmi, Ph.D. - (Life Sciences) – The Hebrew University of Jerusalem –Recognized for fundamental contributions to the fields of population and medical genetics. In medical genetics, he reported the first evaluations of a new technology for genetic testing of preimplantation embryos for complex (adult) diseases and traits. Through his groundbreaking work in population genetics, he has generated new insights into the demographic history of medieval Ashkenazi Jews.
- Rina Rosenzweig, Ph.D. (Chemistry) - Weizmann Institute of Science – Recognized for discovering the regulatory mechanism by which a particular class of proteins, “chaperones,” drive the innate ability of our cells to prevent and reverse protein aggregation—a phenomenon associated with many neurodegenerative conditions including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. Harnessing and amplifying natural methods to reverse protein aggregation in cells could pave the way for treatments for these conditions.
- Zvika Brakerski, Ph.D. (Physical Sciences & Engineering) - Weizmann Institute of Science – Recognized for developing the first efficient encryption algorithm that allows cloud computers to perform computations on encrypted data without the need to first decrypt them. His algorithm has enormous potential to improve the security of cloud computing. In addition, he has also developed new cryptography algorithms to verify the output of quantum computations.
The Blavatnik Awards recognize outstanding, innovative scientists at the early stages of their careers, both for their extraordinary achievements and their promise for future discoveries. The prizes are awarded to researchers aged 42 and younger for groundbreaking work in life sciences, chemistry, and physical sciences & engineering. The Blavatnik Awards in Israel sit alongside their international counterparts, the Blavatnik National Awards and Blavatnik Regional Awards in the United States and the Blavatnik Awards in the United Kingdom.
The 2023 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in Israel will be conferred at a ceremony held at the Peres Center for Peace & Innovation in Tel Aviv-Jaffa in June 2023.
On June 6, 2023, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM IDT, the Laureates will present their research at a free public symposium at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University. To learn more about this event, click HERE.
The Laureates will join a cadre of young scientists from across Israel who have been honored by the Blavatnik Awards in Israel since the launch of the Awards in 2017. In addition, the Laureates will become part of the international Blavatnik Science Scholars community, whose recipients will have been awarded prizes totaling $15.4 million by the close of 2023. Approximately 60 percent of all recipients are immigrants to the country in which they were recognized. Moreover, honorees hail from 52 countries across six continents, reflecting the fact that groundbreaking science is a global enterprise.
“Israel’s science and technology improves lives and constantly expands the boundaries of discovery,” said Len Blavatnik, Founder and Chairman of Access Industries and Head of the Blavatnik Family Foundation. “We are proud to honor these exceptional young scientists and their significant contributions to the global scientific community.”
Nicholas B. Dirks, President and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences, said, “Science and technology are both considered Israel’s most developed sectors, which follows from the fact that Israel’s universities are training some of the most talented scientists in the world. On behalf of the New York Academy of Sciences, we are proud to recognize the outstanding science and scientists represented by the 2023 Blavatnik Awards in Israel Laureates, including the first Laureate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. We congratulate them and their institutions.”
Professor David Harel, President of The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, said, “Today, more than ever, we value the continuing collaboration with the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences to maintain the tradition of bestowing these distinguished awards upon outstanding young scientists in Israel. It is crucial to continue to support and invest in Israel’s next generation of scientists, both for the benefit of the international scientific community and to maintain the status of Israeli science at the forefront of the global research world.”
During the nomination period for the 2023 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in Israel, 40 nominations were received from eight universities across the country. Members of the Awards’ Scientific Advisory Council, which includes Nobel Laureates Professors Aaron Ciechanover, David Gross and Professor Sir Richard Roberts, along with former Chairman of the Israel Space Agency, Professor Isaac Ben-Israel, were also invited to submit nominations. Three distinguished juries—composed of leading scientists representing the three disciplinary categories and led by Israel Academy members—selected the 2023 Laureates.