On Thursday, May 22nd, 2025, The Pershing Square Foundation (PSF) held its annual combined cancer and neuroscience Prize Award Dinner at THE POOL in New York City. This was a celebratory event highlighting the winners of both the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize and the MIND Prize.  The evening featured a guest saxophonist to close the night.   

Over the past 12 years, The Pershing Square Foundation has committed over $64 million through these two key programs, supporting 97 scientists across the United States. These initiatives focus on high-risk, high-reward research in cancer and brain science. Launched in 2013, the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize aims to grant scientists in the greater New York City area the freedom to take risks and pursue their most ambitious projects, particularly at stages where traditional funding is scarce. Building on the success of this model, the MIND (Maximizing Innovation in Neuroscience Discovery) Prize was introduced in 2022. As it completes its third year, we celebrate another exceptional group of researchers from across the nation who are dedicated to advancing our understanding of the brain and cognition. Beyond financial support, both initiatives offer winners the chance to present their work to scientific and business communities, fostering collaboration and bridging the gap between academia and industry.

The 2025 Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize winners are: Chrysothemis Brown, MD, PhD from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Luisa Escobar-Hoyos, PhD from Yale School of Medicine, Alexander Gitlin, MD, PhD from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Ed Reznik, PhD from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center,  Liling Wan, PhD from Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Mark Yarmarkovich, PhD from NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Read more about our 2025 Prize winners in our Press Release here. 

The 2025 MIND Prize winners are: Lucas Cheadle, PhD from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Katie Galloway, PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, X. Shawn Liu, PhD from Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Michael Pacold, MD, PhD from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Elizabeth Pollina, PhD from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and Maria Antonietta Tosches, PhD from Columbia University. Read more about our 2025 Prize winners in our Press Release here.