Every year the Blavatnik Family Foundation in conjunction with the New York Academy of Sciences honors young scientists in three fields: chemistry, physical sciences and engineering or life sciences.  

This year, Chinese scientists swept the regional chemistry division that cover​s New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, taking the top prize as well as two finalist positions.  

Highest honors went to Ning Jia, a research associate at New York City’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  She was recognized for her work on CRISPR-Cas – an emerging technology that enables gene editing ​and promises breakthroughs in the treatment and prevention of diseases like cancer.  

The top prize winner gets 30,000 dollars while the two finalists ​each get 10,000 dollars - making the Blavatnik Awards the largest unrestricted prizes for early-career scientists. Their intention is to spur future innovation.  

CGTN's Karina Huber reports.