The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) has announced the creation of a new award — the David and Beatrix Hamburg Award for Advances in Biomedical Research and Clinical Medicine — to recognize creative and accomplished biomedical scientists who are advancing health and the human condition around the world. Named for David Hamburg, who was president of the Institute of Medicine from 1975-1980, and Beatrix Hamburg, an NAM member and expert in child and adolescent behavioral health, this new award will be presented yearly and includes a medal and $50,000. The award will be funded by an endowment that was established in 2004 in honor of the Hamburgs’ life and legacy. The award will open for its first round of applications in January 2022, and the first awardee will be named at the NAM’s annual meeting in October 2022.
The award will honor an exceptional biomedical research discovery, translation, or public health intervention by one or more scientists that has fundamentally enriched the understanding of biology and disease, leading to a significant improvement in human health and social well-being and reduction in global health inequities.
“David and Beatrix Hamburg have contributed so much to the legacy of the Institute of Medicine and the NAM,” said Victor J. Dzau, president of the National Academy of Medicine. “It is truly fitting that their lifelong dedication to scientific excellence, collaboration, and interdisciplinary research and discovery will be honored with this award. The NAM is proud to add this award to the prizes we bestow every year.”
This award is specifically intended to celebrate and amplify biomedical advances that may result from collaborations among scientists specializing in one of the many life science disciplines, engineering, computer science, and the behavioral and social sciences. Submissions that are interdisciplinary or collaborative in nature are especially encouraged.
“I am so pleased that this award has been created in my parents’ name, and will honor their legacy and commitment to excellence and innovation in biomedical sciences,” said Margaret “Peggy” Hamburg, vice president for biological programs and policies at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and former international secretary of the NAM. “My parents were both psychiatrists by training but throughout their careers fostered and supported advances in basic and clinical science, especially those that were accomplished in collaboration across fields of expertise and that worked to improve the human condition. I am very much looking forward to honoring individuals who have exhibited the potential to benefit humanity through this award, and encourage all who can to submit an application in January 2022.”
