On Monday, June 17th, 2024, the Pershing Square Foundation (PSF) held its inaugural combined cancer and neuroscience Prize Dinner at The Park Avenue Armory in New York City. This was a beautiful dinner celebrating the winners of both the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize and the MIND Prize.  

The evening featured a panel on cell dormancy and circadian rhythm with special guest speakers,  Julio Aguirre-Ghiso, PhD, Rose C. Falkenstein Chair in Cancer Research, Director of the Institute for Cancer Dormancy and Tumor Microenvironment, and Co-Leader of the Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center Tumor Microenvironment & Metastasis and Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize Scientific Review Council member, Mikala Egeblad, PhD, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Tumor Microenvironment at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and 2017 Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize winner, Benjamin Izar, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and 2023 Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize winner, and Michael Young, PhD, 2017 Nobel Laureate, Richard and Jeanne Fisher Professor at The Rockefeller University and MIND Prize Scientific Advisory Board member. The panel had a lively discussion and Q&A around the importance of considering timing of drugs and immunotherapy, the role of cell dormancy and importance of the tumor micro-and-macroenvironment in cancer metastasis, how the sleep-wake cycle can affect patients with Alzheimer’s Disease, and more.  

Over the past 11 years, The Pershing Square Foundation has committed over $53.5 million through these two key programs, supporting 83 scientists across the United States. These initiatives focus on high-risk, high-reward research in oncology 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 second year, PSF celebrates 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 both scientific and business communities, fostering collaboration and bridging the gap between academia and industry.  

The 2024 Pershing Square Sohn Prize winners are: Samuel Bakhoum, MD, PhD from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Teresa Davoli, PhD from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Ashley Laughney, PhD from Weill Cornell Medicine, Juan Pablo Maianti, PhD from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Santosha Vardhana, MD, PhD at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  Read more about our 2024 Prize winners in our Press Release here. 

The 2024 MIND Prize winners are: Hachung Chung, PhD from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Faranak Fattahi, PhD from University of California, San Francisco, Antonio Fernandez-Ruiz, PhD from Cornell University, Shane Liddelow, PhD from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Alex Pollen, PhD from University of California, San Francisco, Longzhi Tan, PhD from Stanford University, and Xuebing Wu, PhD from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Read more about our 2024 Prize winners in our Press Release here.