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Taubman Institute launches $100,000 translational science prize

Ann Arbor, Mich. – Physician-scientists worldwide will vie for the newly established $100,000 annual Taubman Prize for Excellence in Translational Medical Science starting in 2012, the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute has announced.

The Taubman Prize will recognize work in the crucial field of translational research – research, like that supported by the Taubman Institute at the University of Michigan, which seeks to transform laboratory discoveries into clinical applications for patients suffering from disease.

“Here at the University of Michigan we are making great strides in translational medical science,” said Dr. Frank Brosius III, a Taubman Scholar and member of the selection committee.  “By offering this award to the global community of clinician-scientists we hope to honor and support pathfinding work being done around the world – research that has led to new cures and treatments for the devastating conditions we battle every day.”

The $100,000 award will be presented at the institute’s annual symposium, held each fall, to the clinician-scientist making the most significant contribution to translating basic research findings into medical practice. The winner will be asked to serve as keynote speaker for the event.

“This awards program is the next logical step for the Taubman Institute,” said Taubman Institute Director Eva Feldman, M.D., Ph.D.

“It complements our mission of supporting clinician-researchers as they strive to find cures and treatments that can move swiftly from the lab to patients, and it will bring even more eminent scientists to Ann Arbor to exchange knowledge and ideas with our Taubman Scholars and the U-M community,” says Feldman, who also is the Russell N. DeJong Professor of Neurology at U-M.

Nominations will be judged on their contribution to translating basic research findings into clinical applications and by the manner in which their clinical practice connects to their research. All clinician-scientists, regardless of country, are eligible, excluding U-M researchers.

The winner will be chosen each year by a national panel of distinguished scientists.

Self-nomination is permitted. Application guidelines and forms are online at http://www.taubmaninstitute.org/programs/2012-taubman-prize. The deadline for all nominations is April 1, 2012.

About the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute: In 2007 Michigan businessman and philanthropist A. Alfred Taubman provided the initial funds to establish the institute bearing his name at the University of Michigan Medical School. Its mission is to provide the university’s finest medical scientists the freedom, resources and collaborative environment they need to push the boundaries of medical discovery, to produce breakthroughs in cures to speed the development of effective treatment for some of the most devastating illnesses. Currently, 16 Taubman Scholars are advancing their research with the assistance of grants from the institute, which also established the Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the first embryonic stem cell facility in the state.