Dr. Marius Wernig Receives 2018 Ogawa-Yamanaka Stem Cell Prize from the Gladstone Institutes

NYSCF congratulates Marius Wernig, MD, PhD, for receiving the 2018 Ogawa-Yamanaka Stem Cell Prize from the Gladstone Institutes for his work in cellular reprogramming and stem cell-based therapies for genetic disease. Dr. Wernig is a NYSCF – Robertson Stem Cell Investigator Alumnus, recipient of the 2014 NYSCF – Robertson Stem Cell Prize, and an associate professor of pathology at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University.

The Ogawa-Yamanaka Stem Cell Prize (named in part after Gladstone Senior Investigator, prize jury member, and Nobel laureate Dr. Shinya Yamanaka—the inventor of induced pluripotent stem cells) is awarded to scientists who are conducting groundbreaking research in translational regenerative medicine using reprogrammed cells. Recipients are awarded $150,000 in unrestricted funds to continue their research. Dr. Wernig received the prize in recognition of his work in cellular reprogramming and stem cell–based therapies for genetic disease.

“It is a great honor to receive this esteemed prize and be recognized for my work to better understand the multi-faceted components of neurological and genetic diseases,” said Dr. Wernig in a press announcement by the Gladstone Institutes. “My lab’s goal is to discover novel biology using reprogrammed cells that aids in the development of effective treatments.”

Dr. Wernig was awarded the NYSCF – Robertson Stem Cell Prize for his discovery that human skin cells can be converted directly into functional neurons, termed induced neuronal cells, in a period of four to five weeks with the addition of just four proteins. These cells have revolutionized research for neurological disease and carry important applications for cell replacement therapies and drug testing.