Prizes

The Vilcek Foundation champions the inclusion of diverse perspectives for the advancement of the arts and sciences. We celebrate and invest in immigrant artists and scientists at every stage of their careers.

The Vilcek Foundation Prizes were established in 2006. Since then, we have awarded over $6.4 million to immigrants from 59 different countries.

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141

Total prizewinners

Countries represented

$6.4M

Awarded

Prizewinners from Around the World

Explore the map below to learn more about the reach of the foundation and our prizewinners.

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Prizewinners from Around the World

Learn more about the reach of the foundation and our prizewinners, who are recognized for career achievements and creative promise in the sciences, arts, and humanities.

Explore the list of prizewinners

Vilcek Prizes

The Vilcek Prizes are awarded to immigrants with a legacy of major accomplishment in the biomedical sciences and the arts and humanities, including: literature, culinary arts, music, filmmaking, architecture, dance, design, fashion, theatre, and visual arts. The Vilcek Prize includes a $100,000 cash award.

Learn about the Vilcek Prizes

Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise

The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise are awarded to emerging to mid-career immigrant professionals in the biomedical sciences and the arts and humanities who have demonstrated outstanding achievement early in their careers. The Creative Promise Prize includes a $50,000 cash award.

Learn about the Creative Promise Prizes

Vilcek Prize for Excellence

The Vilcek Prize for Excellence is awarded to immigrants who have had a profound impact on American society and world culture, or to individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to immigrant causes. The Vilcek Prize for Excellence includes a $100,000 cash award.

Learn about the Prize for Excellence

Grants for Organizations

The Vilcek Foundation supports the work of a small number of 501(c)(3) cultural and educational institutions in the United States for programs and initiatives that complement the foundation’s mission.

Learn about Grants for Organizations

Meet the 2022 Vilcek Foundation Prizewinners

Vishva M. Dixit receives the Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science for his groundbreaking discoveries on the mechanism of apoptosis - a biochemical process of programmed cell death.

Soledad Barrio receives the Vilcek Prize in Dance for her commitment to the growth and evolution of the genre of flamenco through her artistic leadership and instruction with Noche Flamenca, and for the creative vision and technical mastery she brings to her performances.

Katalin Karikó receives the Vilcek Prize for Excellence in Biotechnology for her pioneering research leadership into the development of mRNA therapeutics, which led to the development of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19.

Markita del Carpio Landry receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for the development of probes to visualize neurochemical communication in the brain, and for breakthroughs in gene-editing technologies with applications for agriculture and the development of biologic drugs.

Hani Goodarzi receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for using modeling and computational methods to uncover novel molecular players and pathways and therapeutic targets in cancer metastasis and for developing sophisticated molecular tools for the early detection and monitoring of cancer.

Harris Wang receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for the development and application of Mutiplex Automated Genome Engineering (MAGE), a platform to track, program, and engineer entire microbial communities and ecosystems for a range of diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Tatiana Desardouin receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Dance for her presentation of hip-hop and house dance that brings the vernacular tradition of these genres in the Black diaspora to her performances, choreography, and artistic direction.

Tamisha Guy receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Dance for her evocative and intuitive performance style that blends elements of contemporary, modern, and narrative dance traditions, and for her commitment to furthering her own practice through instruction, collaboration, and mentorship.

Leonardo Sandoval receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Dance for his dynamic choreography that expands the boundaries of tap as a genre and his unique practice that engages elements of Afro-Brazilian dance traditions including samba, forró, maracatu, and passinho.