[Updated 6/28/18 5:20pm ET; see note below] There was discussion. There was debate. After much wrangling, the editors and judges have narrowed down the impressive list of nearly 300 nominees for the 2018 Xconomy Awards to an all-star group of 64 finalists in 11 categories. There is no doubt that the overall caliber of the nominees this year has gone up compared to last year’s (also great) inaugural submissions, so it will be a really tight race for the winners. Thankfully, we have our esteemed panel of judges to help us with that.
Winners will be announced at our awards gala at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston on Wednesday, September 5, at 6pm. We hope to see you there.
Stay tuned for brief profiles of all the finalists that will roll out over the summer, leading up to our gala.
The Lifetime Achievement Award winner will be announced later this summer.
Without further ado, here are the 2018 Xconomy Award finalists.
2018 FINALISTS
Big Idea
Day Zero Diagnostics
Ginkgo Bioworks
Human Cell Atlas
Kaleido Biosciences
David Liu, Broad Institute & Harvard University
Travera
Newcomer
Gary Glick, IFM Therapeutics
Bill Haney, Dragonfly Therapeutics & Skyhawk Therapeutics
Penny Heaton, Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute
Doug Ingram, Sarepta Therapeutics
Innovation at the Intersection
Angela Belcher, MIT
Iya Khalil, GNS Healthcare
David Mooney, Harvard University
Nimbus Therapeutics
Rosalind Picard, MIT
CEO
Jeff Jonas, Sage Therapeutics
Jeff Leiden, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Nick Leschly, Bluebird Bio
John Maraganore, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Anna Protopapas, Mersana Therapeutics
Leslie Williams, ImmusanT
Commitment to Diversity
Addgene
Abbie Celniker/MassBio/Liftstream
Global Initiative for Neuropsychiatric Genetics Education in Research (GINGER)
Kate Haviland, Blueprint Medicines
Ramsey Johnson, OUTBio
Merck Exploratory Science Center
Pandion Therapeutics
Young Innovator
Lissy Hu, CarePort Health
Cigall Kadoch, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Kathleen McCarthy, Skyhawk Therapeutics
James McLaughlin, Gemini Therapeutics
Carl Schoellhammer, Suono Bio
Luhan Yang, eGenesis
Patient Partnership
Circulation
Iora Health
Magenta Therapeutics
Partners Connected Health
PatientsLikeMe
Startup
Finch Therapeutics Group
Foghorn Therapeutics
Generation Bio
Indigo Ag
Semma Therapeutics
Tango Therapeutics
Contrarian
Stéphane Bancel, Moderna Therapeutics
Michael Sherman, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
Luk Vandenberghe, Massachusetts Eye and Ear
Digital Trailblazer
Akili Interactive Labs
Empatica
John Halamka, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Kyruus
PathAI
Pear Therapeutics
The Learning Corp
X of the Year
Global Science Supporter
Nina Dudnik, Seeding Labs
Translational Researcher
Anna Greka, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Activists
Steve Holtzman, Decibel Therapeutics & Jeremy Levin, Ovid Therapeutics
Watchdog
Institute for Clinical and Economic Review
Scientific Founder
Timothy Lu, MIT
Discoverer
Feng Zhang, Broad Institute & MIT
[Update: We have moved Steve Holtzman and Jeremy Levin out of the Contrarian category and into the X of the Year category. We are recognizing them for their social and political activism and we had initially put them in the Contrarian category because they were being outspoken at a time when few other biotech CEOs were. We were not saying that their views and the values they’re based on are themselves contrarian. To avoid possible misunderstanding, we have moved them to the X of the Year category.]
