New York, NY, March 1, 2018 — The Vilcek Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2019 Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science.

 

The Creative Promise Prizes were established in 2009 to honor emerging immigrant professionals who have demonstrated significant accomplishments early in their careers. Three winners will each receive a $50,000 unrestricted cash prize.

 

“American science—and the world at large—has long prospered from the inclusion of immigrant scientists in every field,” says Jan Vilcek, CEO and chairman of the Vilcek Foundation. “With the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise, we hope to encourage that diversity of thought by supporting foreign-born researchers who have chosen to lay personal and intellectual roots in the U.S.”

Eligible candidates must be independent researchers directly responsible for the design and execution of the work submitted for consideration; they should not be graduate students or postdoctoral fellows working under the supervision of a mentor. They should hold a full-time position at an academic institution or research organization, as an assistant or associate professor, research scientist, or equivalent. In addition, eligible applicants will have been born outside of the United States; be 38 years of age or younger; and hold a doctoral degree (MD, PhD, or equivalent).

Candidates will be asked to submit an application form, curriculum vitae, authored works, three short personal essays, and proof of immigration status (DACA recipients are welcome). Applications will be accepted from March 1 to 5PM EDT, June 11, 2018. The application and full eligibility requirements are available at Vilcek.org.

A panel of distinguished experts will evaluate each applicant’s accomplishments, including the quality and creativity of the work submitted, clarity of personal and professional purpose, and potential for positive impact on the field and society at large. Three winners will be announced in February 2019 and honored at the foundation’s annual awards gala in the spring of 2019. 

The Vilcek Foundation is dedicated to honoring the contributions of foreign-born artists, scientists, and scholars to American society. In addition to bestowing the Creative Promise Prizes, the foundation also awards the prestigious $100,000 Vilcek Prize. Launched in 2006, the Vilcek Prize celebrates the lifetime achievements of leading figures in biomedical science and in a wide array of the arts, including theater, dance, film, music, fashion, literature, architecture, and fine arts. Since launching the prizes, the foundation has awarded approximately $4 million in cash prizes to 105 individuals from 48 different countries, including Guatemala, Iran, Romania, China, and Russia.

Both the Vilcek Prizes and the Creative Promise Prizes are awarded in the biomedical sciences and a rotating category of the arts each year. For information about the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in the Arts and Humanities, this year awarded in the field of culinary arts, please visit Vilcek.org.