The Seymour & Vivian Milstein Award for Excellence in Interferon and Cytokine Research

The Seymour & Vivian Milstein Award for Excellence in Interferon and Cytokine Research, commonly known as The Milstein Award, represents the pinnacle of scientific achievement in interferon and cytokine research. The Milstein Award is bestowed upon a leading biomedical research scientist who has made outstanding contributions to interferon and cytokine research, either in a basic or applied field. Many laureates have made seminal advancements that have enabled the successful treatment of disease or have the potential to lead to significant health benefits for humanity.

The Milstein family has long been dedicated to philanthropy in the United States and abroad. In particular, the Milsteins—Vivian, her late husband Seymour, their son Philip and their daughter Connie—have been committed to endowing innovations in patient care and breakthroughs in scientific research.

The Milstein family understood the importance of interferon research early on and established the Seymour & Vivian Milstein Award for Excellence in Interferon and Cytokine Research in 1988, two years after interferon was first approved for the treatment of hairy cell leukemia. Since that time, it has been widely recognized that interferons and the larger class of cytokines play critical roles in the development and progression of many major diseases including cancer, viral diseases such as hepatitis and influenza, and autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis and lupus.

This year The Milstein Awards were presented on Sunday, October 9th at the Annual Meeting of the ISICR in Florence, Italy.

See www.cytokines2011.it for more information.