Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, a pioneering physician and oncologist who is also known for his best-selling books on cancer and gene therapies, will receive Research!America’s Isadore Rosenfeld Award for Impact on Public Opinion for his efforts to demystify cancer for broad audiences. The Rosenfeld Award is presented to individuals who have worked to effectively deliver medical or other health-related research advocacy messages to the public. Dr. Mukherjee will be presented with the award at the Advocacy Awards Dinner on March 13, 2019 in Washington, D.C. as Research!America celebrates its 30th anniversary.
Dr. Mukherjee’s books have made better understanding of the history and nature of cancer and gene therapies accessible to millions of people. His book, The Emperor of All Maladies, was adapted into a documentary by filmmaker Ken Burns, and was included among Time magazine’s 100 best nonfiction books of the past century. He is also the author of The Gene: An Intimate History which won international awards and was recognized by The Washington Post and The New York Times as one of the most influential books of 2016.
Dr. Mukherjee has also advocated for funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a member of ACT for NIH. He currently serves as an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center and as a staff cancer physician, generating hope for countless patients and families around the world, while revolutionizing our blueprint for healing.
Other 2019 Research!America Advocacy Award Nominees are The Honorable Louis W. Sullivan, former Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and founding dean and president emeritus of the Morehouse School of Medicine; Dr. Susan Hockfield, President Emerita, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Professor of Neuroscience and a member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; Dr. David R. Williams, Florence and Laura Norman Professor of Public Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Professor of African and African American Studies and Sociology, Harvard University; Denny Sanford, health care philanthropist, supporter of Sanford Health, which includes Sanford Research, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The recipient of the Edwin C. Whitehead Award for Medical Research Advocacy, presented to an elected official, will be announced in the coming weeks.