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Harvard hematologist receives children’s health research award
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Vijay Sankaran, MD, PhD, received the third annual Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children’s Health Research.
The award — established in 2014 as part of a $25 million gift to Weill Cornell Medicine — honors an early career pediatrician whose research has made important contributions toward improving the health of children and adolescents.
Sankaran — whose research focuses on molecular underpinnings of pediatric genetic blood disorders — is a pediatric hematologist and oncologist at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, as well as assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
“Sankaran is a talented physician-scientist whose steadfast commitment to pediatric research and clinical care exemplifies the spirit of our Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children’s Health Research,” Augustine M.K. Choi, MD, Stephen and Suzanne Weiss dean of Weill Cornell Medicine, said in a press release. “His research on the causes of genetic blood disorders and his work to translate those findings into new treatments have provided hope to children suffering from these diseases and their families. We’re delighted to honor him with this year’s Drukier Prize.”
Sankaran’s research focuses on inherited diseases, such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia, that affect hemoglobin.
“I’m incredibly humbled to be getting this award,” Sankaran said in the release. “In addition to honoring the work that we’ve done in the lab, and the great mentorship I’ve received, I’m extremely grateful that this award is given for child health research. With increased support, there are tremendous opportunities for us to advance the work being done in this area so that we can protect the health of future generations.”