Green Takes Home BRIght Futures Prize
Robert Green is named BRIght Futures Prize winner. |
The culmination of BWH Research Day was the highly-anticipated announcement of the first BRIght Futures Prize winner.
Nearly 6,500 BWHers and members of the public cast their votes for one of three finalists addressing cutting-edge themes in their research and competing for the grand prize of $100,000 to fund their work.
Shortly after 4 p.m., before a full Bornstein Amphitheater, Robert Green, MD, MPH, was pronounced the winner.
A delighted Green, whose project revolves around finding effective, responsible ways to use DNA sequencing for newborn babies and their families, thanked the Biomedical Research Institute (BRI) and acknowledged co-finalists Philip De Jager, MD, PhD, Elizabeth Karlson, MD, and Robert Plenge, MD, PhD. He recognized his team in the Department of Medicine’s Division of Genetics and the spirit of collaboration and support behind the project.
“BWH has had a remarkable impact on my life,” said Green. “It is where I trained, where my wife trained, where we met, and where our first child was born. As with everything else, it is a place of teamwork and support.”
Jacqueline Slavik, PhD, executive director of the BRI, explained the background of the inaugural competition. Last spring, the BRI asked BWHers to submit provocative medical questions they wanted answered, garnering 106 responses. A handful of the questions were selected and presented to researchers to develop into projects. Following a peer review process, three finalists were selected to compete publicly for the $100,000 prize.
“We wanted to increase the awareness of our research at BWH and around the world, which is how the BRIght Futures Prize originated,” she said.
Senior Vice President of Research Barbara Bierer, MD, thanked the 90 BWH volunteers who made Research Day a success, as well as many others who worked tirelessly behind the scenes leading up to the event. She also acknowledged 270 BWH innovators—those who filed invention disclosures or had patents awarded in 2012. Christine Seidman, MD, BRI director, recognized the 13 research excellence award winners chosen from among the 150-plus poster presenters, who enthusiastically shared their work and passion throughout the day, as well as those who received Translatable Technologies Care Innovation awards, BWH Faculty Career Development Awards and BRI Center awards this year.