S&R Foundation Presents 2017 Sachiko Kuno Award for Applied Science to Dr. Abigail Marsh, Georgetown University

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- S&R Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports talented individuals with high aspirations in the arts, sciences, and social entrepreneurship, is pleased to announce that the 2017 Sachiko Kuno Award for Applied Science is awarded to Dr. Abigail Marsh, for her research on social and affective neuroscience. The Kuno Award provides $100,000 in funding.

Dr. Marsh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at Georgetown University. She is particularly focused on understanding emotional processes such as empathy, and how they relate to altruism, aggression, and psychopathy. Among her ongoing research projects are brain imaging, behavioral, and ecological studies of individuals who have engaged in acts of extraordinary altruism—such as donating a kidney to a stranger—that are aimed at understanding the factors that motivate people to care about the welfare of others and how care and compassion for others can be enhanced. Her work could have significant benefits for society if she can identify drivers of ordinary and/or extraordinary altruism in strangers.

"The goal of S&R's Kuno Award is to recognize and support visionaries with deep domain expertise in fields relating to specific 21^st century challenges," said Dr. Sachiko Kuno, CEO and President of the S&R Foundation. "This Award is designed to support the translation of scientific research to a practical and real-world solution. It supports those aiming to achieve measurable social impact, which is certainly the case with Dr. Marsh's work."

Dr. Marsh's research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the John Templeton Foundation, and has been published in leading journals that span disciplines and include Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Human Behaviour, American Journal of Psychiatry, JAMA Psychiatry, and Psychological Science. She has received multiple awards for her work, including the 2007 Richard J. Wyatt Memorial Award for translational research from the National Institute of Mental Health and the 2014 Cozzarelli Prize for outstanding scientific excellence and originality from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

About Sachiko Kuno Award for Applied Science
S&R Foundation's Kuno Award for Applied Science for the social good is an annual award launched in 2015, designed to support social innovators using scientific research and principles to address a 21^st Century problem. The award is designed to support the translation of scientific research to a practical and real-world solution. The award supports those aiming to achieve measurable social impact. The recipient of Kuno Award is provided with $100,000 in funding. In order to be eligible for the Kuno Award, applicants must be at early or mid-career, and possess a PhD in a relevant field. The project must be the original idea of the applicant, or the applicant's team.

About S&R Foundation
S&R Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created in 2000 to support talented individuals with great potential and high aspirations in the arts, sciences and social entrepreneurship, especially those who are furthering international cultural collaboration. Contributions to S&R Foundation go directly to funding its mission. Overhead and general operational costs are covered by founders' contributions and use of existing assets. For more information, visit www.SandRFoundation.org.

SOURCE S&R Foundation

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