The Albany Prize
America's Most Distinguished Prize in Medicine
The Albany Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research is one of the largest awards in medicine and science in the United States. The $500,000 prize has been awarded annually since 2001 for exceptional work in medicine and biomedical research. It was established by the late Morris “Marty” Silverman, a businessman from Troy, N.Y., to honor scientists whose work has translated from “the bench to the bedside” resulting in better outcomes for patients. A $50 million gift commitment from the Marty and Dorothy Silverman Foundation to Albany Medical Center provides for the prize to be awarded annually for 100 years. Recipients, who have included Anthony Fauci, MD, former director of the National Institutes of Health, and CRISPR pioneers Emmanuelle Charpentier, PhD, and Jennifer Doudna, PhD, demonstrated significant outcomes that offer medical value of national or international importance.
Past Recipients
2023
Bonnie L. Bassler, PhD
Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD
Dennis L. Kasper, MD
2022
C. David Allis, PhD
Michael Grunstein, PhD
2021
Barney S. Graham, MD, PhD
Katalin Karikó, PhD
Drew Weissman, MD, PhD
2020
Postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic
2019
Bert Vogelstein, MD
Irving Weissman, MD
2018
James Allison, PhD
Carl June, MD
Steven Rosenberg, MD, PhD
2017
Emmanuelle Charpentier, PhD
Jennifer A. Doudna, PhD
Francisco J. M. Mojica, PhD
Luciano Marraffini, PhD
Feng Zhang, PhD
2016
Franz-Ulrich Hartl, MD
Arthur Horwich, MD
Susan Lee Lindquist, PhD
2015
Karl Deisseroth MD, PhD
Xiaoliang Sunney Xie, PhD
2014
Alexander Varshavsky, PhD
2013
Brian J. Druker, MD
Peter C. Nowell, MD
Janet D. Rowley, MD
2012
James E. Darnell, Jr., MD
Robert G. Roeder, PhD
2011
Elaine Fuchs, PhD
James A. Thomson, VMD, PhD
Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD
2010
David Botstein, PhD
Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD
Eric S. Lander, PhD
2009
Ralph Steinman, MD
Charles Dinarello, MD
Bruce Beutler, MD
2008
Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD
Joan Steitz, PhD
2007
Robert J. Lefkowitz, MD
Solomon H. Snyder, MD
Ronald M. Evans, PhD
2006
Seymour Benzer, PhD
2005
Robert S. Langer, MD
2004
Herbert W. Boyer, PhD
Stanley N. Cohen, MD
2003
Michael S. Brown, MD
Joseph L. Goldstein, MD
2002
Anthony S. Fauci, MD
2001
Arnold J. Levine, PhD
Morris "Marty" Silverman 1912-2006
The man who founded one of the largest prizes in medicine in the nation
Marty Silverman’s spirit of unselfishness and tremendous pride in Albany Medical Center and the Capital Region remains very much alive in the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research. As the founder one of the largest prizes in medicine in the United States - at one time second worldwide to the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine - Marty made sure the prize would survive the test of time. His $50 million gift commitment made in November 2000 remains the largest in the history of Albany Medical Center. Perhaps due to his humble upbringing in Troy, N.Y., Marty had to be persuaded to abandon his desire for anonymity as the benefactor of the Albany Prize. His goal in creating such a prize was to help focus attention on both Albany Medical Center and the city of Albany as a national and international hub of excellence in the health care industry.
A graduate of Albany Law School, he moved to New York City with his wife, Dorothy, where the couple pioneered the leasing industry. In 1950, he founded his first leasing company, National Equipment Rental, which later became the North American Corporation. In 1984, Marty sold what had evolved into the largest privately owned leasing company in the United States. After his wife passed away in 1985, Marty retired and created the Marty and Dorothy Silverman Foundation. Throughout the years, the Foundation has provided support for numerous programs that benefit abused and neglected children, indigent senior citizens, as well as educational and cultural programs.
In celebrating the legacy of Marty Silverman, we are inspired by his infectious optimism and joie de vivre. In awarding the Albany Prize, we pay tribute to this remarkable and generous man whose commitment to advancing biomedical research and supporting humanitarian efforts will forever be remembered.
Recent News About Our Winners
Jeffrey Gordon, MD, the Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and a 2023 recipient of the Albany Prize, was awarded the 21st annual Nierenberg Prize from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. Read the article from Washington University
Michael Grunstein, PhD, a 2022 recipient of the Albany Prize, has passed away at the age of 77. A professor emeritus of biological chemistry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, he was recognized for his groundbreaking research in genetics. Read the memorial from the UCLA newsroom
MIT's Robert Langer, MD, 2005 Albany Prize recipient, and a native of Albany, N.Y., received Johnson & Johnson's Dr. Paul Janssen Award which recognizes, "the most passionate and creative scientist or group of scientists in basic or clinical research, who achievements have made or have strong potential to make a measurable impact on human health." Read article from MIT News
