Business Plan Challenge Pitch Competition
The 2024 Business Plan Challenge pitch competition creates bridges between academic researchers and industry to move innovations from the lab to patients. With guidance and feedback from industry mentors, 10 teams set out to develop business plans based on Weill Cornell Medicine, WCM-Qatar or Cornell University inventions or technologies. In addition to the traditional therapeutic areas, this year’s technologies encompassed digital platforms and devices utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning. First place was awarded to ConsenSurg, a prospective app that aims to revolutionize the surgical consent process and provide consistent, equitable pre-op education to patients.
NAM Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine
Dr. Margaret McNairy, an associate professor of medicine, has been selected as an Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine (ELHM) Scholar by the National Academy of Medicine. The ELHM program annually selects early- and mid-career professionals who have demonstrated leadership and professional achievement in biomedical science, population health, health care and related fields. A respected global health physician-scientist, Dr. McNairy’s research focuses on improving delivery of primary care, including treatment for HIV and cardiovascular diseases, in resource-constrained settings. For the past decade, she has worked with the Haiti-based medical organization GHESKIO, in partnership with Weill Cornell Medicine.
Tri-Institutional Breakout Award
Dr. Mohammad Arifuzzaman, assistant professor of immunology in medicine , has been awarded a 2024 Tri-Institutional Breakout Award for Junior Investigators. Weill Cornell Medicine, The Rockefeller University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center present the awards annually, recognizing exceptional investigators for their remarkable research achievements, impactful findings and high potential for success as independent investigators. Dr. Arifuzzaman’s research focuses on how nutrition and gut microbiota affect immunity.
Weill Award
Dr. Javaid I. Sheikh, dean of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, has been awarded the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Exemplary Achievement Award by Weill Cornell Medicine. A world-renowned leader in global academic medicine, distinguished clinician-scientist and respected medical executive, he has been instrumental in advancing Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar’s international reputation, having pioneered numerous innovative biomedical education and research programs, including the establishment of a comprehensive research infrastructure with core laboratories in genomics, proteomics and other cutting-edge areas; the Institute for Population Health at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar in 2012; and an Artificial Intelligence Center for Precision Health in 2021.
Pershing Square Sohn Prize
Dr. Ashley Laughney, an assistant professor of physiology and biophysics, has won a 2024 Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research. Prizes are given to scientists pursuing innovative cancer research, taking risks that may not be supported by traditional funding. The prize allows Dr. Laughney to further develop and test a novel single-cell functional genomics method her lab has created, called SatSeq, which seeks to rapidly map all functions of a protein in one experiment, allowing investigators to comprehensively map the role of their chosen protein across multiple contexts.
Illustration: Helena Pallarés
