Ross Prize Awarded To NIH Scientific Director

MANHASSET, N.Y., May 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research has selected Daniel Kastner, MD, PhD, the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) scientific director, as the seventh awardee of the Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine. The prize is awarded annually through the Feinstein Institute's peer-reviewed, open-access journal, Molecular Medicine, and includes a $50,000 award that will be presented to Dr. Kastner on June 4 at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) in Manhattan.

The Ross Prize is made possible by the generosity of Feinstein Institute board members Robin and Jack Ross. It is awarded to scientists who have made a demonstrable impact in the understanding of human diseases pathogenesis and/or treatment, and who hold significant promise for making even greater contributions to the general field of molecular medicine. Dr. Kastner is being recognized for his discovery of genetic and genomic strategies to further explain the molecular basis and treatment of autoinflammatory diseases.

"I am honored to be recognized and added to the line of Ross Prize recipients who made an impact on molecular medicine," said Dr. Kastner. "I hope my research will continue to have impact and lead to innovative treatments for autoinflammatory diseases."

After a brief award presentation, a symposium will be held during which Dr. Kastner will discuss his research along with Luke A.J. O'Neill, PhD, from Trinity College Dublin, Yanick J. Crow, PhD, from The University of Edinburgh, Zhijian "James" Chen, PhD, from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, who will discuss their latest research in inflammation.

"Dr. Kastner's research has revolutionized our understanding of the immune system's role in disease," said Kevin J. Tracey, MD, president and CEO of the Feinstein Institute and editor emeritus of Molecular Medicine. "His work on patients with disorders of inflammation has created new fields of medicine and given new lives to people who suffered from previously untreatable conditions."

Dr. Kastner has been at the NIH since 1985 where he served as Clinical Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the NIH's first Deputy Director for Intramural Clinical Research, and since 2010, Scientific Director of the Division of Intramural Research at NHGRI.

Focusing on research that uses genetic and genomic approaches to understand inherited inflammation disorders, Dr. Kastner's laboratory has identified the gene mutated in familial Mediterranean fever by positional cloning, discovered the genetic basis for a second recurrent fever syndrome named TRAPS (TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome), and made seminal genetic discoveries that establish other distinct illnesses as disorders of the IL-1 pathway, which include a group of cytokines that play pivotal roles in the regulation of immune and inflammatory responses to infection. His lab recently used genomic approaches in genetically complex disorders, such as Behçet's disease and continues to maintain an active clinical research program. His group also proposed the now widely accepted concept of autoinflammatory disease to denote disorders of innate immunity. Dr. Kastner has earned a number of awards and honors, including election to the National Academy of Sciences in 2010 and to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in 2012.

To learn more about the Ross Prize celebration and symposium, and to register for the event, please visit www.nyas.org/RossPrize2019. If you would like to nominate a candidate for the 2020 Ross Prize, please make a submission here.

Past recipients of the Ross Prize are: Huda Y. Zoghbi, MD, professor, Departments of Pediatrics, Molecular and Human Genetics, Neurology and Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine; Jeffrey V. Ravetch, MD, PhD, the Theresa and Eugene M. Lang Professor and head of the Leonard Wagner Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Immunology at The Rockefeller University; Charles N. Serhan, PhD, DSc, director of the Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Reperfusion Injury at Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Simon Gelman Professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School and professor at Harvard School of Dental Medicine; Lewis C. Cantley, PhD, the Meyer Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medical College and New York-Presbyterian Hospital; John J. O'Shea, MD, scientific director at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS); and Dan R. Littman, MD, PhD, the Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Professor of Molecular Immunology in the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine at New York University School of Medicine.

About the Feinstein Institute 
The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is the research arm of Northwell Health, the largest healthcare provider in New York. Home to 50 research laboratories and to clinical research throughout dozens of hospitals and outpatient facilities, the Feinstein Institute includes 4,000 researchers and staff who are making breakthroughs in molecular medicine, genetics, oncology, brain research, mental health, autoimmunity, and bioelectronic medicine – a new field of science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine. For more information about how we empower imagination and pioneer discovery, visit feinstein.northwell.edu.

About Molecular Medicine
Molecular Medicine sits at the forefront of its field, rapidly disseminating discovery in the genetic, molecular, and cellular basis of physiology and disease across a broad range of specialties. With over two decades of experience publishing to a multidisciplinary audience, and continually celebrating innovation through the 'Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine' and 'Anthony Cerami Award in Translational Medicine', the journal strives towards the design of better molecular tools for disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Molecular Medicine is published by BMC, on behalf of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.

About the New York Academy of Sciences
The New York Academy of Sciences is an independent, not-for-profit organization that since 1817 has been committed to advancing science, technology, and society worldwide. With more than 20,000 members in 100 countries around the world, the Academy is creating a global community of science for the benefit of humanity. The Academy's core mission is to advance scientific knowledge, positively impact the major global challenges of society with science-based solutions, and increase the number of scientifically informed individuals in society at large. Please visit us online at www.nyas.org.

SOURCE The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research

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