The Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance has announced the winners of the inaugural Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research.

Established in 2013 as part of a $25 million partnership between the Pershing Square and Sohn Conference foundations, the annual prize is designed to catalyze collaboration among scientists, academics, nonprofits, business investors, and the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. This year's prize-winners will each receive $200,000 per year for up to three years to enable them to pursue cutting-edge research at a stage when traditional funding is lacking.

The inaugural winners of the Pershing Square Sohn Prize are Emily Bernstein, Ph.D. (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai); Adolfo Ferrando, M.D., Ph.D. (Columbia University Medical Center); Ross Levine, M.D. (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center); Agata Smogorzewska, M.D., Ph.D. (Rockefeller University); Lloyd Trotman, Ph.D. (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory); and Sihong Wang, Ph.D. (CUNY City College).

"Effective cancer research needs constant innovation, calculated risk taking, and a close relationship with the pharmaceutical and business communities," said PSSCRA executive director Olivia Tournay Flatto, Ph.D. "With this prize, we are trying to combine the three. We're encouraging young scientists to continue their groundbreaking research, while introducing them to mentors in the pharmaceutical and business communities in New York City that will help them in the months and years ahead."