Awards and Recognitions
Gordon Hall

Anne Goldfeld, HMS professor of medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, has received the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Humanitarian Award from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).

Goldfeld was recognized for her groundbreaking work on tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS. In particular, the prize committee highlighted the treatment and research programs she cofounded in Cambodia for TB, drug-resistant TB, and HIV — and later in Ethiopia for drug-resistant TB — bringing care to some of the world’s most underserved populations. Her work has provided a new understanding of the immune response to TB and TB/HIV co-infection and changed global treatment guidelines for HIV/TB treatment, which is estimated to have saved more than 150,000 lives annually over the last 14 years.

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Goldfeld received her award at the 2025 NFID Awards Gala and Silent Auction in October in Washington, DC.

Adapted from NFID press materials.

Jie Yang, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, was named a 2025 fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI).

Yang was recognized for his work in medical informatics, AI in health care, and clinical natural language processing. The college cited his expertise in developing innovative natural language processing and AI algorithms — particularly large language models (LLMs) — and applying them to analyze large medical datasets, especially electronic health records. His research goals include improving clinical decision-making, supporting real-world evidence generation, and enabling scalable health applications.

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“This year’s fellows bring expertise from academia, health care, government, and industry, and their lasting impact, leadership, and scholarship continue to advance how we use information and innovations like artificial intelligence to improve health,” said ACMI president Peter Embi.

Adapted from ACMI press materials.

Vijay Sankaran, the HMS Jan Ellen Paradise, MD Professor of Pediatrics at Boston Children’s, was named a U.S. News Best Leader by U.S. News & World Report. The Best Leaders ranking spotlights 25 exceptional individuals across public service, business, health care, and education.

An encounter with a patient with sickle cell disease in his first days making rounds with hospital doctors inspired Sankaran to shift his research focus from stem cells and structural biology to non-sickled, fetal hemoglobin. In 2008, Sankaran and colleagues published a study that identified BCL11A as the gene that regulates fetal hemoglobin production. Their further research led to the development of a sickle cell gene therapy that was the first of its kind to be approved by the FDA.

Sankaran continues his research into gene variants that play a role in disease. He hopes to develop new treatments for blood disorders such as anemia and leukemia.

Adapted from U.S. News & World Report.

Kaitlin Webster, research fellow in genetics in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS, has received a 2025 L’Oréal for Women in Science Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The award recognizes postdoctoral women scientists for their innovative research and outreach activities to support young women and girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The award comes with a $75,000 grant.

Webster was recognized for her research into sperm-egg interaction factors that are essential for vertebrate fertility and speciation.

Adapted from AAAS materials.

Gordon Freeman, HMS professor of medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Arlene Sharpe, the Kolokotrones University Professor and chair of the Department of Immunology at HMS, have been awarded the inaugural Gretener-Thürlemann Prize by the University of Zurich.

The prize, worth 500,000 Swiss francs or approximately $625,000, recognizes outstanding researchers in medicine, chemistry, and physics for foundational and pioneering research of societal benefit.

Freeman and Sharpe were honored for decades of discoveries that proved pivotal for the development of immune checkpoint inhibitors — immunotherapies that have transformed cancer treatment for millions of patients worldwide and infused newfound energy into the field.

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­The Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine at HMS was recognized by the Architect’s Newspaper with a Best of Design Award for educational building renovation.

First opened in 1965, the Countway Library underwent extensive renovations from 2019 to 2023 that fundamentally reimagined the library’s role on the Longwood Campus. Designed by the architecture firm Shepley Bulfinch, the transformative renovation expanded user spaces, including areas for collaboration, inspiration, quiet concentration, and technology-rich environments like a maker space and state-of-the-art anatomy visualization system. A new pedestrian bridge, ADA-compliant ramps, and a new entrance on Huntington Avenue improved accessibility and reconnected Countway to the surrounding community.

Adapted from the Architect’s Newspaper materials.

The Office of Communications and External Relations was recognized at the fifth annual Anthem Awards, which honor the purpose- and mission-driven work of people, companies, and organizations worldwide. OCER was a silver winner in the nonprofit community engagement category for its work — in conjunction with faculty, staff, and students across the HMS community — on Research Under Threat, a collection of stories and videos aimed at advocating for federal support for science and training at HMS conducted in service to humanity.