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 covers 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.