Online Nominations for 2014 Breakthrough Prizes in Life Sciences are Open

AsiaNet 54122

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 3, 2013 /PRN=KYODO JBN/ --

                  Up to five prizes of $3 million each to be awarded

    The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Foundation announces the opening of

online nomination website for its 2014 prizes. The rules and nomination form

are available to the public at http://www.breakthroughprizeinlifesciences.org.

Anyone can nominate a candidate online and all submissions must be completed by

a third party.

    Nominations will be accepted through October 2, 2013.

    This year the Foundation will award up to five prizes of $3 million each,

sponsored by Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan,

and Yuri Milner. All prizes will be awarded for research aimed at curing

intractable diseases and extending human life, with special attention to recent

discoveries. One prize sponsored by Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki is aimed

specifically at advancements in Parkinson's disease research.

    The 2014 prize winners will be chosen by the Foundation's Selection

Committee, which is comprised of prior recipients of the Breakthrough Prize in

Life Sciences, including:

    - Cornelia I. Bargmann

    - David Botstein

    - Lewis C. Cantley

    - Hans Clevers

    - Napoleone Ferrara

    - Titia de Lange

    - Eric S. Lander

    - Charles L. Sawyers

    - Bert Vogelstein

    - Robert A. Weinberg

    - Shinya Yamanaka

    "We all benefit from the brilliance and commitment of researchers at the

frontiers of medical science. This is a chance to reward their achievements and

support their future work. If you think someone deserves a Breakthrough Prize,

you have the power to put them in the running."

    - Art Levinson, Chairman of Apple Inc., Genentech, and The Breakthrough

Prize in Life Sciences Foundation.

    About the Breakthrough Prize Foundation:

    The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Foundation is a nonprofit

organization created by Art Levinson, Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki, Mark

Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, and Yuri Milner and dedicated to advancing

research aimed at curing intractable diseases and extending human life. The

Foundation works toward this goal by:

    - Awarding annual prizes of $3,000,000 each for accomplishments in the field

      of life sciences.

    - Communicating the excitement of science and raising the profile of those

      who practice it.

    - Inspiring young people to consider a career in science.

    Additional information about the Foundation and the 2013 recipients of the

prizes can be found at http://www.breakthroughprizeinlifesciences.org.

    For additional inquiries, contact:

    Leonid Solovyev

    - media@fundamentalphysicsprize.org

    - +44-7590-976-334,

    Media@breakthroughprizeinlifesciences.org

    SOURCE: Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Foundation