Blog Article
The 2025 Blavatnik Science Symposium, hosted by The New York Academy of Sciences, convened an extraordinary group of past and present Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists honorees for two days of cross-disciplinary exchange and forward-looking discussion on science with real-world impact.
Published July 28, 2025
By Kamala Murthy
Senior Manager, Communications
Held at the Academy on July 14–15, the event spotlighted pioneering research in neuroscience, quantum computing, genetics, AI, immunology, materials science, and sustainability while also serving as a vibrant forum for forging new scientific collaborations.
A Welcome Return to In-Person Dialogue
Opening the symposium, Academy President and CEO Nicholas B. Dirks reflected on the power of community:
“This symposium is more than just presentations — it’s a chance to connect across disciplines and geographies,” he said. “Many creative collaborations have had their beginnings right here, sparked by informal conversations over coffee or during meals, and continued well beyond these two days.”
Dirks underscored the remarkable achievements of the Blavatnik Awards community, which now includes more than 500 scientists from 120 institutions. Collectively, they have secured over 7,300 patents and launched more than 50 companies.
Exploring the Frontiers of Science
The symposium’s first day began with Session I: Insights Engineered from the Molecular World, where Markita Landry (UC Berkeley) introduced nanoscale fluorescent sensors for real-time imaging of neurotransmitters. She was followed by Moran Shalev-Benami (Weizmann Institute), who unveiled a new type of light-sensing protein discovered in Antarctic algae. Speaking virtually, Nieng Yan (Tsinghua University and Shenzhen Bay Laboratory) presented groundbreaking research from her lab on sodium channels that has provided the structural blueprint for non-addictive, non-opioid pain therapies, such as the FDA-approved Journavx.
Session II: Building the Future: Materials for a Sustainable Planet featured keynote talks from two innovators in materials science. Yi Cui (Stanford University), founder of Amprius Technologies, discussed advances in lithium battery chemistry that could quadruple energy density. Geoffrey Coates (Cornell University) shared real-world case studies where polymer science led to startups addressing plastic recycling and green hydrogen production.
Quantum science took center stage in Session III: Entangled Realities: How Quantum Ideas Are Reshaping Science, beginning with Danna Freedman (MIT), who presented her work designing molecular qubits. Shruti Puri (Yale University) followed with insights into how entanglement enables quantum fault-tolerance. Vinod Vaikuntanathan (MIT) explored lattice-based cryptography designed to resist quantum attacks, and Ana Maria Rey (University of Colorado) examined how photon-mediated atomic interactions can power next-generation quantum sensors.
In Session IV: Evolutionary Code Underlying Immunity and Inheritance, Harmit Malik (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center /HHMI) explained how evolutionary “scars” reveal key antiviral defense mechanisms. Sohini Ramachandran (Brown University) addressed the ethical misuse of genetic research and advocated for emphasizing human genetic diversity. Ruslan Medzhitov (Yale/HHMI) offered an evolutionary lens to reframe our understanding of allergies.
A Community of Change-Makers
Day 2 opened with remarks from Sonya Dougal the Academy’s Senior Vice President of Awards & Scientific Programs, who spoke to the lasting connections fostered through the Blavatnik Awards:
“When you become a Blavatnik honoree, you become part of this distinguished and enduring community,” she said. “The ideas celebrated here often gain traction well beyond the lab, attracting investors, crossing into the commercial realm, and generating meaningful societal impact.”
Innovations Across the Brain, AI, and Planetary Science
Session V: Tuning the Brain with Microbes, Molecules, and Machines kicked off the second day’s talks. Edward Chang (UCSF), renowned for developing a brain implant that enabled a paralyzed man to speak, presented new work decoding the neural code of speech. Christoph Thaiss (Stanford/Arc Institute) examined how the brain integrates signals from both the body and the external environment. Viviana Gradinaru (Caltech) shared her lab’s decade-long efforts to engineer viral vectors that cross the blood-brain barrier—a technology now moving into human trials via her company, Capsida Biotherapeutics.
Keynote speaker Chris Bregler (Google DeepMind), a pioneer in AI-generated media and Academy Award winner for visual effects, reflected on the promises and perils of deepfakes. He then moderated a panel, Beyond the Breakthrough: Translating Innovation into Real-World Impact, featuring Edward Chang, Geoffrey Coates, Yi Cui, and Viviana Gradinaru. The panelists shared candid reflections on launching startups, consulting with venture capitalists, and turning research breakthroughs into scalable tools and treatments.
The final session, Observing the Universe: From Earth to the Stars, expanded the symposium’s view to planetary and environmental systems. Kaiyu Guan (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) described how AI and satellite imaging are transforming agriculture and enabling the decarbonization of global supply chains. Rebecca Oppenheimer (American Museum of Natural History) highlighted recent discoveries of new, exotic extrasolar planetary systems. Britney Schmidt (Cornell University) detailed her team’s research in Greenland, where they used under-ice robotics to investigate how subglacial outflows are accelerating ice loss and ultimately influencing marine ecosystems.
Author
Academy Communications Department
This article was written by a member of the Academy Communications team.
