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Stuart Orkin named 2020 King Faisal Prize Laureate in Medicine

    Published:
Stuart Orkin. MD

Stuart H. Orkin, MD, of Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, a David G. Nathan Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, has been named a 2020 King Faisal Prize Laureate in Medicine for his research contributions in hemoglobin disorders.

“I am honored to receive this award which recognizes discoveries of many exceptionally talented trainees in my laboratory over more than three decades,” said Orkin.

Launched by the King Faisal Foundation (KFF) and granted for the first time in 1979, the King Faisal Prize (KFP) recognizes the outstanding works of individuals and institutions in five major categories: Service to Islam, Islamic Studies, Arabic Language and Literature, Medicine, and Science.

Prizes for Medicine were added in 1981 and first awarded in 1982. One is considered qualified to win the King Faisal International Prize for Medicine if they have carried out and published an original scientific research on the prize’s topic, with major benefits to humanity, and meeting one or more of the prize’s objectives as determined by the respective Selection Committee.

“Stu is incredibly deserving of this recognition as a true pioneer in this field, and especially all he has done to advance the understanding of sickle cell disease and other hemoglobinopathies over more than 30 years,” said Scott Armstrong, MD, PhD, President of Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. “On behalf of all the faculty at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s, congratulations to Stu and gratitude for all that he has contributed to our program.”

King Faisal Prize (KFP) was initiated by the King Faisal Foundation inspired by its humanitarian objectives and its commitment to preserve the true Islamic values for which King Faisal stood.

This year is the 40th anniversary of KFP and previous KFP winners have gone on to win 21 Nobel Prizes, 13 Gairdner Foundation International Awards, 11 American National Medals of Science, 10 Laster Awards and many other honors.