Angelika Amon, the Kathleen and Curtis Marble Professor of Cancer Research and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has received the 2019 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science from the Vilcek Foundation. Based in New York City, the foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from the former nation of Czechoslovakia.
The award is presented annually to an immigrant with a legacy of major accomplishment in the biomedical sciences. A native of Austria, Dr. Amon is considered among the world’s leading experts on cell division. Her research has revealed how mistakes that arise during cell division can result in a condition called aneuploidy. She has also discovered how aneuploidy can affect cell function and have a role in diseases like cancer.
“What I love about the United States is that what counts is what you accomplish,” said Dr. Amon. “This prize has a lot of power to highlight the accomplishments of immigrants, and I’m extremely grateful for this recognition.”
In addition to her roles at MIT, Dr. Amon is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2015, she was selected to serve as the elected foreign associate to the European Molecular Biology Organization and the elected foreign associate to the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Amon holds a Ph.D. from the University of Vienna.