Established on November 10, 2016, the Innovators in Science Award is administered by the New York Academy of Sciences and sponsored by Takeda Pharmaceuticals. This global award recognizes a promising Early-Career Scientist’s and an outstanding Senior Scientist’s contributions to biomedical science and is intended to support their commitment to innovative research.
Two prizes of US$200,000 are awarded each Award cycle to winning scientists who have distinguished themselves for the creativity and impact of their research in a designated therapeutic area.
Focus Area
The 2020 Innovators in Science Award area of focus is Rare Disease. At the time of nomination, nominators will be required to select one (1) primary disease category that best represents the focus area of a nominee's research.
- Autoimmune / Autoinflammatory Diseases
- Bacterial Infections Blood Diseases
- Chromosome Disorders
- Congenital and Genetic Diseases
- Connective Tissue Diseases
- Digestive Diseases
- Ear, Nose, and Throat Diseases
- Endocrine Diseases
- Eye Diseases
- Female Reproductive Diseases
- Fungal Infections Heart Diseases
- Hereditary Cancer Syndromes
- Immune System Diseases
- Kidney and Urinary Diseases
- Lung Diseases Male Reproductive Diseases
- Metabolic Disorders Mouth Diseases
- Musculoskeletal Diseases
- Nervous System Diseases
- Newborn Screening Nutritional Diseases
- Parasitic Diseases
- Rare Cancers Skin Diseases
- Viral Infections
- Other
Eligibility
Early-Career Scientist
The nominee must:
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Have been engaged in active research for a length of time of 10 years or less since gaining their doctorate degree or equivalent.
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Hold a doctorate degree (PhD, DPhil, MD, DDS, DVM, etc.).
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Currently hold a junior level Post-doctoral or Faculty position at an invited academic, government, or non-profit institution or equivalent.
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Have made impactful research contributions and show exceptional promise for significant future achievement in the Award field.
In the event that an Early-Career Scientist nominee has taken a maternity, paternity, adoptive, family care, military, or extended sick leave (in line with their current institution’s policies) during the 10 years since gaining their doctoral degree or equivalent, they can qualify for an extension of the eligibility timeframe. Instructions regarding how to request an extension are provided at the end of the Guidelines section.
Senior Scientist
The nominee must:
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Have been engaged in active research for a length of time of more than 10 years since gaining their doctorate degree or equivalent.
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Hold a doctorate degree (PhD, DPhil, MD, DDS, DVM, etc.).
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Currently hold a senior level Faculty position at an invited academic, government, or non-profit institution or equivalent.
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Have made multiple, extensive, and impactful research contributions to advance the Award field.
Conflict of Interest
Research Support from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, and its affiliates
Individuals in receipt of current or prior research support from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, or its affiliates, are not eligible for nomination. This conflict of interest (COI) encompasses direct Takeda support/engagement with the nomination candidate, as well as direct Takeda support/engagement of a specific project or research that the nomination candidate is involved in.
General support from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, or its affiliates, for a nominee’s institution/organization or laboratory (including donation or general funding) does not constitute a COI.
For a comprehensive listing of affiliates, please visit:
Government Employees
Government entities, employees, or officials may serve as eligible nominating bodies, nominators, or nominees. At the time of application, nominators must certify that the nominee has obtained the necessary required approval from his/her Agency supporting their eligibility to be nominated for the Innovators in Science Award. Government employees or officials will also be required to certify that their participation and acceptance as a nominee of this Award program does not violate his/her Agency rules and regulations.
There are no residency or citizenship requirements to be nominated for the Innovators in Science Award.
There are no residency or citizenship requirements to be nominated for the Innovators in Science Award.
Evaluation Criteria
Nominees and their work as independent investigators will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
Early-Career Scientist
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Quality: The extent to which the work is reliable, valid, credible, and scientifically rigorous.
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Impact: The extent to which the work represents a significant contribution in basic, translational, or clinical research that has impacted, or has strong potential to impact, human health through the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of disease.
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Novelty: The extent to which the work challenges existing paradigms, employs innovative new methodologies or concepts, and/or pursues an original question.
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Promise: The extent to which the nominee has made innovative research contributions and shows exceptional promise for significant future achievement in the Award field.
Senior Scientist
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Quality: The extent to which the work is reliable, valid, credible, and scientifically rigorous.
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Impact: The extent to which the work represents a significant contribution in basic, translational, or clinical research that has impacted, or has strong potential to impact, human health through the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of disease.
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Novelty: The extent to which the work challenges existing paradigms, employs new innovative methodologies or concepts, and/or pursues an original question.
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Promise: The extent to which the nominee has made impactful research contributions and future prospects for further significant contributions in the Award field.
For general questions about the rules and eligibility requirements, please consult the Frequently Asked Questions.
Nomination Process
Candidates for the 2020 Innovators in Science Award must be nominated by their institutions. Each institution may submit up to two (2) nominations each year, one (1) in each category of Early-Career Scientist and Senior Scientist.
Institutional nominations must be submitted online by the President (or equivalent), Provost, or the official designee of the nominee's host institution. Institutions must send a brief statement to TakedaInnovators@nyas.org naming the official designees as nominators before submitting nominations. At that time, the Academy will provide login credentials for the online nominations portal, and nominators will be invited to create a nominator account on behalf of their institution.
The nominators fill out the nomination form, upload all required materials, and provide the names of two Letter of Support writers. The Letter of Support writers then receive emails with instructions on uploading their letters. For more details, please refer to the nomination Guidelines.
Self-nominations are not permitted. Nominees do not submit their own nomination materials and should direct all questions to their institution’s official nominator.
Please upload one PDF file (File name: Last name_NYAS_ISA20.pdf) containing the following items in order by 4:00 p.m. on the internal submission deadline:
- Nominee's (PI) name, title, and departmental affiliation
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Names and titles of the two letter writers who will provide Letters of Support
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Name and title of the writer who will provide the Rationale for Nomination statement
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Curriculum Vitae (4-page maximum)
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Research Summary (1,000-word maximum)
Formatting Guidelines and Page Limit:
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Font/size: Times New Roman (12 pt.)
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Document margins: 1.0” (top, bottom, left and right)
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Standard paper size (8 ½” x 11)
Questions concerning the limited submissions process may be submitted to limitedsubs@psu.edu.