You are here: Home » Archives for King Faisal Prize

King Faisal Prize Awards $1 Million, in Recognition of COVID-19 Vaccine Development, Nanotechnology Ingenuity Contributing to 100 Scientific Breakthroughs that Changed the World, and other Key Scientific & Humanitarian Achievements

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 20, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — On 20 March, Harvard University and Oxford University professors Dan Barouch from the US and Sarah Gilbert from the UK received the King Faisal Prize for Medicine in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for their innovative vaccine technologies. They developed Covid–19 vaccines, which saved millions of lives. Furthermore, Northwestern University Professor, Chad Mirkin, and the A*STAR Senior Fellow and Director at NanoBio Lab, Professor Jackie Yi–Ru Ying, were awarded the Science Prize for helping define the modern age of nanotechnology and for their various advancements and applications of nanomaterials.

Professor Dan Barouch; the Director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the William Bosworth Castle Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Professor Sarah Gilbert; the Sad Chair of Vaccinology in the Nuffield Department of Medicine at Oxford University, employed a novel technology in developing Covid–19 viral vectors vaccines: the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the Oxford""AstraZeneca vaccine, respectively.

Novel Vaccine Technology and Quick Response to the Pandemic

Instead of the traditional vaccines' methods which use a weakened or killed form of the original infection and require a long time to develop in the human body, professors Dan Barouch and Sarah Gilbert genetically modified a harmless version of a different virus to carry genetic material to body cells and deliver protection. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was based on engineering a harmless adenovirus (called Ad26) which was a common type of virus that caused mild cold symptoms..

In his acceptance speech during the ceremony, Professor Barouch said, "The Ad26 vaccine for COVID–19 demonstrated robust efficacy in humans, even after a single shot, and showed continued protection against virus variants that emerged. This vaccine has been rolled out across the world by the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson, and over 200 million people have received this vaccine, particularly in the developing world".

Like the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the essence of the Oxford""AstraZeneca vaccine, (called ChAdOx1 nCoV–19), is a genetically modified weakened version of a common virus which caused a cold in chimpanzees and no infection when injected in humans. The modified virus in both vaccines carried the genetic instructions for the coronavirus spike protein. When entering the body cells, the virus used a genetic code or instructions to produce the specific surface spike protein of the coronavirus inducing an immune response and preparing the immune system to attack coronavirus if it infects the body.

Both vaccines were achieved in few months of work; the Johnson & Johnson vaccine required 13 months and the Oxford""AstraZeneca vaccine took 10 months of work. This was due to previous research work and clinical trials to develop vaccine candidates for multiple pathogens of global significance. The development of the Ad26 vaccine platform, which was the base for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, came as a result of Dan Barouch's accumulated work on HIV, Zika virus, and tuberculosis. He is considered a pioneer in the creation of a series of vaccine platform technologies that can be used when developing vaccines for emerging infectious diseases, such as COVID–19. Moreover, Barouch led the world's first demonstration of Zika vaccine protection in preclinical studies and launched a series of phase 1 Zika vaccine clinical trials.

Likewise, the Oxford""AstraZeneca vaccine's innovative technologies were also applied by Sarah Gilbert to Malaria, Ebola, Influenza, and MERS, with clinical trials of the latter taking place in the UK and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In fact, the patented ChAdOx1 technology was developed by Professor Gilbert and other researchers at the University of Oxford in 2012. In 2014, she led the first trial of an Ebola vaccine after a large outbreak of the disease in West Africa.

"I am humbled to join the other 2023 laureates today, and to follow–in the footsteps of the men and women whose work has been recognized by the Foundation over more than four decades. This award is in recognition of my work to co–create a vaccine for COVID–19. A low–cost, accessible, efficacious vaccine that has now been used in more than 180 countries and is estimated to have saved more than six million lives by the start of 2022", said Professor Gilbert in her acceptance speech during the awarding ceremony.

Nanotechnology Inventions Topping 100 Scientific Discoveries that Changed the World

In this year's King Faisal Prize for Science about "Chemistry", Professor Chad Mirkin (from the US); the Director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN) and the Rathmann Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Medicine, Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Chemical and Biological Engineering at Northwestern University, and Professor Jackie Yi–Ru Ying (from the US); the A*STAR Senior Fellow and Director at NanoBio Lab, Agency for Science, Technology, and Research, received the prize.

The work of Professor Chad Mirkin, which has been at the forefront of nano chemistry for over three decades, has helped define the modern age of nanotechnology. He is widely recognized for his invention of spherical nucleic acids (SNAs), which are nanostructures composed of nucleic acids in a spherical configuration which enter human cells and tissues and overcome biological barriers, making it possible to detect or treat a disease on the genetic level. More than 1,800 products for medical diagnostics, therapeutics, and life science research were based on this technology. "One vital component of our work aims to use nanotechnology to restructure DNA and RNA into forms that make them more potent medicines for treating debilitating types of cancer and neurological disease. Through this work, we hope to usher in a new era of powerful and precision genetic medicines where we can attack and treat disease at its genetic routes", said Mirkin in his acceptance speech.

Professor Mirkin has over 1,200 patent applications worldwide. He also founded several companies, including Nanosphere, AuraSense, TERA–print, Azul 3D, MattIQ, and Flashpoint Therapeutics. He pioneered artificial intelligence–based materials discovery inventing a method to create patterns directly on different substances with a variety of inks called "dip–pen nanolithography", which was described by National Geographic as one of the "top 100 scientific discoveries that changed the world". He also developed HARP (high–area rapid printing) technology, a 3D printing process that can manufacture different products like ceramics at record–breaking throughput.

As for Professor Jackie Yi–Ru Ying, her research focused on synthesis of advanced nanomaterials and systems, and their application in biomedicine, energy conversion, and catalysis. Her inventions have been used to solve challenges in different fields of medicine, chemistry, and energy. "I am deeply honored to be receiving the King Faisal Prize in Science, especially as the first female recipient of this award," she said in her acceptance speech.

Her development of stimuli–responsive polymeric nanoparticles led to a technology which can autoregulate the release of insulin, depending on the blood glucose levels in diabetic patients without the need for external blood glucose monitoring. Dr. Ying's laboratory has pioneered the synthesis of mesoporous and microporous transition metal oxides; a class of nanomaterials used in energy storage and conversion, by supramolecular templating (organizing or assembling entities).

Dr. Ying has more than 180 primary patents and patent applications; 32 of which have been licensed to multinational and start–up companies for a range of applications in nanomedicine, drug delivery, cell and tissue engineering, medical implants, biosensors, medical devices, and others. Her work is at the intersection of nanotechnology and technical medicine and has culminated in the establishment of six successful start–ups and spinoff companies.

Four Exceptional Thinkers and Leaders Recognized in Arabic Language & Literature, Islamic Studies, and Service to Islam

Along with Medicine and Science, the King Faisal Prize recognized outstanding thinkers and scholars in Arabic Language & Literature and Islamic Studies this year and honored exemplary leaders who have contributed to serve Islam, Muslims, and humanity.

Professor Abdelfattah Kilito, from Morocco, received the "Arabic Language & Literature" prize focusing on "Classical Arabic Narrative and Modern Theories". He has been a visiting professor and lecturer at the New Sorbonne, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Chicago, the University of Oxford, and the College de France. Professor Robert Hillenbrand, from the UK, Honorary Professorial Fellow in the department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (IMES) at the University of Edinburgh, was awarded the "Islamic Studies" prize in "Islamic Architecture". His work was distinguished by its geographic and temporal expansiveness, which covered North Africa, Egypt, Palestine, and Central Asia, and spanned from the early Islamic period till the 19th Century. As for the "Service to Islam" Prize, Professor Choi Young Kil–Hamed (from South Korea) and His Excellency Shaikh Nasser bin Abdullah Al Zaabi (from the UAE) were this year's laureates.

Since 1979, King Faisal Prize in its 5 different categories has awarded 290 laureates who have made distinguished contributions to different sciences and causes. Each prize laureate is endowed with USD 200 thousand; a 24–carat gold medal weighing 200 grams, and a Certificate inscribed with the Laureate's name and a summary of their work which qualified them for the prize.

Attachments


GLOBENEWSWIRE (Distribution ID 8791879)

Two Female Scientists Win this year’s King Faisal Prize

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Two women scientists were announced King Faisal Prize for Medicine and Science laureates for 2023: a Covid–19 vaccine developer and a nanotechnology scientist. Six others were announced King Faisal Prize laureates for having enriched humanity with key and invaluable achievements and discoveries in the fields of Medicine, Science, Arabic Language & Literature, Islamic Studies, and Serving Islam.

The woman behind Oxford""AstraZeneca COVID–19 vaccine, Professor Sarah Gilbert, the Sad Chair of Vaccinology in the Nuffield Department of Medicine at Oxford University, was selected to receive King Faisal Prize in medicine. She has co–created the vaccine which has been in use in more than 180 countries saving billions of lives due to its efficiency, low cost and accessibility.

The vaccine is called "ChAdOx1 nCoV–19" and was achieved in 10 months of work using a novel approach. Instead of the traditional vaccines' method which uses a weakened or killed form of the original infection and requires a long time to develop in the human body, Gilbert genetically modified a weakened version of a common virus which caused a cold in chimpanzees to be injected in humans without causing an infection. This modified virus became the essence of the vaccine developed by Dr. Gilbert against coronavirus carrying the genetic instructions for the coronavirus spike protein. When entering the body cells, the virus uses a genetic code or instructions to produce the specific surface spike protein of the coronavirus inducing an immune response and preparing the immune system to attack coronavirus if it infects the body.

Dr. Gilbert's innovative vaccine technologies used lately for COVID–19 were also applied by her to Malaria, Ebola, Influenza, and MERS, with clinical trials of the latter taking place in the UK and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She also worked on developing a medicine for it. In fact, the patented ChAdOx1 technology was developed by Dr. Gilbert and other researchers at the University of Oxford in 2012. In 2014, she led the first trial of an Ebola vaccine after a large outbreak of the disease in West Africa. It was because of the ChAdOx1 technology and her accumulated research that the Oxford""AstraZeneca COVID–19 vaccine was produced so quickly.

The other woman scientist selected to receive King Faisal Prize in science is Professor Jackie Yi–Ru Ying; the A*STAR Senior Fellow and Director at NanoBio Lab, Agency for Science, Technology, and Research. She was chosen for her work on the synthesis of various advanced nanomaterials and systems, and their applications in catalysis, energy conversion, and biomedicine. Her inventions have been used to solve challenges in different fields of medicine, chemistry, and energy. Her development of stimuli–responsive polymeric nanoparticles led to a technology which can autoregulate the release of insulin, depending on the blood glucose levels in diabetic patients without the need for external blood glucose monitoring. Dr. Ying's laboratory has pioneered the synthesis of mesoporous and microporous transition metal oxides; a class of nanomaterials used in energy storage and conversion, by supramolecular templating (organizing or assembling entities).

Dr. Ying has more than 180 primary patents and patent applications; 32 of which have been licensed to multinational and start–up companies for a range of applications in nanomedicine, drug delivery, cell and tissue engineering, medical implants, biosensors, medical devices, and others. Her work is at the intersection of nanotechnology and technical medicine and has culminated in the establishment of six successful start–ups and spinoff companies.

Two other Medicine and Science Prize laureates were selected for 2023: Professor Dan Barouch, the Director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the William Bosworth Castle Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Professor Chad Mirkin, the Director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN) and the Rathmann Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Medicine, Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Chemical and Biological Engineering at Northwestern University, respectively.

Professor Dan Barouch developed another COVID–19 viral vector vaccine; the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, using the same technology behind the Oxford""AstraZeneca COVID–19 vaccine. It was administered to hundreds of millions of people worldwide saving their lives. The vaccine was achieved quickly, like Oxford vaccine, in 13 months and was based on engineering a harmless adenovirus (called Ad26) which was a common type of virus that caused mild cold symptoms when it infected a person. The genetically modified virus carries the genetic code for the coronavirus spike protein. After the injection of adenovirus, the cells use the genetic code and produce a spike protein to train the immune system, creating antibodies and memory cells to protect against COVID–19 infection.

The development of the Ad26 vaccine platform was the result of research work and clinical trials to develop vaccine candidates for multiple pathogens of global significance, including HIV and Zika virus, and tuberculosis, making Professor Barouch a pioneer in the creation of a series of vaccine platform technologies that can be used when developing vaccines for emerging infectious diseases, such as COVID–19. Moreover, he led the world's first demonstration of Zika vaccine protection in preclinical studies and launched a series of phase 1 Zika vaccine clinical trials.

The work of Professor Chad Mirkin, which has been at the forefront of nano chemistry for over three decades, has helped define the modern age of nanotechnology. He is widely recognized for his invention of spherical nucleic acids (SNAs), which are nanostructures composed of nucleic acids in a spherical configuration which enter human cells and tissues and overcome biological barriers, making it possible to detect or treat a disease on the genetic level. More than 1,800 products for medical diagnostics, therapeutics, and life science research were based on this technology.

Professor Mirkin is a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence–based materials discovery. He invented dip–pen nanolithography, which was described by National Geographic as one of the "top 100 scientific discoveries that changed the world"; and HARP (high–area rapid printing) technology, a 3D printing process that can manufacture different products like ceramics at record–breaking throughput.

In addition to Medicine and Science, King Faisal Prize recognized this year the achievements of outstanding thinkers and scholars in the fields of Arabic Language & Literature and Islamic Studies, and honored exemplary leaders who played a pivotal role in serving Islam, Muslims, and humanity at large.

Professor Abdelfattah Kilito was announced the laureate for the "Arabic Language and Literature" prize focusing on "Classical Arabic Narrative and Modern Theories". He has been a visiting professor and lecturer at the New Sorbonne, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Chicago, the University of Oxford, and the College de France. Professor Robert Hillenbrand, Honorary Professorial Fellow in the department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (IMES) at the University of Edinburgh, was selected to receive the "Islamic Studies" prize in "Islamic Architecture". His work was distinguished by its geographic and temporal expansiveness, which covered North Africa, Egypt, Palestine, and Central Asia, and spanned from the early Islamic period till the 19th Century.

As for the Service to Islam Prize, Professor Choi Young Kil–Hamed and His Excellency Shaikh Nasser bin Abdullah Al Zaabi were this year's laureates.

Since 1979, King Faisal Prize in its 5 different categories has awarded 290 laureates who have made distinguished contributions to different sciences and causes. Each prize laureate is endowed with USD 200 thousand; a 24–carat gold medal weighing 200 grams, and a Certificate inscribed with the Laureate's name and a summary of their work which qualified them for the prize.

Attachments


GLOBENEWSWIRE (Distribution ID 8723948)

Gene-Editing Technologies, Fluid Mechanics Breakthroughs, and Solutions to Unfathomable Mathematical Equations Recognized by King Faisal Prize

Riyadh, March 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Two mathematicians and a scientist were among this year's King Faisal Prize's seven laureates who received their prizes on 29 March in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for having enriched humanity with key and invaluable achievements and discoveries, and excelled in the fields of Medicine, Science, Arabic Language & Literature, and Serving to Islam.

The Medicine Prize was awarded to Professor David Liu, Richard Merkin Professor and Director of the Merkin Institute of Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, who invented the first gene "base editor" in 2016.

This technology laid the foundation for possibly treating thousands of genetic diseases like sickle cell disease and muscular dystrophy. Professor David Liu used "base editors" in mice to correct the genetic mutation behind progeria, a rare condition characterized by premature aging, retarded development, and early death. Still, more work needs to be done before gene "base editors" can be used in humans.

Initiating a revolution in genome editing, "base editors" have received great global demand. They were distributed over 9,000 times to more than 3,000 laboratories around the world. Scientists were able to publish more than 300 papers on this technique, used in different organisms ranging from bacteria to mice.

"Base editing" is a precise genome editing method; like a genetic pencil, that rewrites DNA base letters, which cause genetic mutations and potentially genetic diseases. This technology, which is in constant development, chemically rewrites one DNA base to another by rearranging the atoms of one DNA base to resemble a different base. In 2019, Professor David Liu created with his team "prime editing" which offers more targeting flexibility and greater editing precision.

With over 75 issued U.S. patents, Professor Liu was referred to as the "Gene Corrector" by Nature magazine topping its list of "Ten People Who Mattered This Year" in 2017 and was included in the "Foreign Policy Leading Global Thinkers list". He is also a biotech entrepreneur, cofounding "Editas Medicine", which uses CRISPR therapies (tool for editing genomes) to "discover, develop, manufacture, and commercialize transformative, durable, and precise genomic medicines for a broad class of diseases".

The Science Prize (Mathematics) was awarded jointly to Professor"Martin Hairer, Chair in Probability and Stochastic Analysis at Imperial College's Department of Mathematics, and to Professor"Nader Masmoudi, a distinguished Professor of Mathematics at the New York University of Abu Dhabi and head of his Research Center on Stability, Instability and Turbulence.

Professor Martin Hairer developed the theory of regularity structures which gave a precise mathematical meaning to several equations that were previously outside the scope of mathematical analysis. He published his theory in 2014 providing tools and manuals for solving many previously incomprehensible equations called the stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs). These equations involve chance and describe how randomness throws disorder into different phenomena like coin tossing, stock price changes, wind movement in a tunnel, or forest fire growth. He transformed the area of SPDEs by introducing fundamental new techniques and was able to solve equations like KPZ equation which describes the evolution of the boundary at which two substances meet over time.

Professor Hairer is a world leader in probability theory and analysis and has authored a monograph and over 100 research articles. His work has been distinguished with several prizes and awards, most notably the LMS Whitehead and Philip Leverhulme prizes in 2008, the Fermat prize in 2013, the Frhlich prize and the Fields Medal in 2014, a knighthood in 2016, and the Breakthrough prize in Mathematics in 2020.

As for Professor Nader Masmoudi, he was able to unlock the mystery around many physics problems which remained unsolved for centuries. He found a flaw in "Euler's" mathematical equations which for more than two centuries described the motions of fluids under any circumstance. He discovered that Euler's equations do not apply to all circumstances, as previously thought, and proved that they could break or fail under certain conditions related to fluids. His work helped solve and understand many problems related to fluid–modeling like weather predictions and airplane turbulence.

For the past 20 years, Professor Masmoudi's research has been at the forefront of Partial Differential Equations, Fluid Mechanics, and Dynamical Systems. He has been cited by more than 8000 papers for his works in pure and applied mathematics. He has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Best Scientific Paper Award in Annales de l'Institue Henri Poincar, a Chair from the Fondation Sciences Mathematiques de Paris, The Fermat Prize, and the Chair Schlumberger from the IHES in Paris.

In addition to Medicine and Science, King Faisal Prize recognized this year the achievements of outstanding thinkers and scholars in the field of Arabic Language & Literature, and honored exemplary leaders who played a pivotal role in serving Islam, Muslims, and humanity at large.

The Arabic Language and Literature Prize about "Arabic Literature Studies in English" was awarded to Professor Suzanne Stetkevych, Chair of the Department of Arabic & Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, and to Professor Muhsin Al–Musawi, Professor of Arabic and Comparative Literary Studies at Columbia University.

Professor Suzanne Stetkevych was awarded the prize for her extensive research and work analyzing Arabic literature with unmatched depth from the pre–Islamic period to the revivalist period. Her research approach resulted in the renewal of the critical perspective and methods of studying classical Arabic poetry.

Professor Muhsin Al–Musawi received the prize for being a well–established authority in the field of Arabic literature demonstrating his encyclopedic knowledge in both classical and modern Arabic literature. His research and studies have made great impact on students and researchers in the field of Arabic studies, both in the Arab world and the West. He handled Arabic literature as a world literature.

The Service to Islam Prize was awarded to the former Tanzanian President His Excellency Ali Hassan Mwinyi and to Professor Hassan Mahmoud Al Shafei. His Excellency Ali Hassan Mwinyi actively participated in Islamic advocacy, spreading the spirit of religious tolerance, educating Muslims, and translating many Islamic resources and references into Swahili language. In parallel, Professor Hassan Mahmoud Alshafei served Islamic sciences through teaching, writing, authenticating, and translating, and has contributed to the establishment of the International Islamic University in Islamabad and the development of its colleges' curricula.

The Islamic Studies Prize for this year on "Islamic Heritage of Al– Andalus" was withheld because the nominated works did not meet the criteria of the prize.

Since 1979, King Faisal Prize in its 5 different categories has awarded 282 laureates from 44 different nationalities who have made distinguished contributions to different sciences and causes. Each prize laureate is endowed with USD 200 thousand; a 24–carat gold medal weighing 200 grams, and a Certificate inscribed with the Laureate's name and a summary of their work which qualified them for the prize.

Attachments


GLOBENEWSWIRE (Distribution ID 8512442)