Amgen recently honored five scientists as winners of the 2020 Amgen Young Investigator Award. The award is designed to support academic excellence from early career investigators who are making significant contributions in the fields of biology, chemical biology and chemistry. Award recipients will receive a $25,000 research grant.
The five scientists honored this year have each, in their own unique way, made important scientific contributions in their respective fields.
"For the past 18 years, Amgen has been proud to leverage this program to recognize and support the next generation of scientific leaders in their career journeys to build top-notch research laboratories," said Margaret Chu-Moyer, Ph.D., vice president Research, Head of Chemistry, Characterization & Technology at Amgen. "We aim to empower early career investigators to continue to pursue their passions, train students in their respective fields, and strengthen their impact on cutting-edge science," said Rohini Deshpande, Ph.D., vice president, Drug Substances Technologies and Amgen Massachusetts Site Head.
The award winners are as follows:
- Biologics: Jean-Philippe Julien, Ph.D., University of Toronto
- Chemical Biology Molecular Structure: David Veesler, Ph.D., University of Washington
- Chemistry: Keary Engle, Ph.D., Scripps Research Institute; Alison Narayan, Ph.D., University of Michigan; Sergey Pronin, Ph.D., University of California Irvine.
Award candidates are independent investigators with no more than six years beyond postdoctoral training (i.e. pre-tenure) who have a primary research focus on one of the three areas of study listed above. Winners are selected by a committee of Amgen scientists based on their demonstrated and anticipated impact on their field.
Recipients will be honored at the 18th Annual Young Investigator Award Symposium in October, a virtual event where they will present their research updates to Amgen staff.