2021 AJN Awards
Science Awareness Award
Communicating complex science topics in innovative, engaging ways
DR. VIN GUPTA, INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH METRICS AND EVALUATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
“I am honored to receive this award, just as I have been honored to be a voice of the scientific community over the course of the pandemic,” Dr. Gupta said.
Acting as the Institute’s chief spokesman during the COVID-19 pandemic for the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle, Dr. Gupta became an authoritative and tireless presence on the evening news. He has given more than 200 COVID-19 briefings.
A Critical Care Pulmonologist and Affiliate Faculty at the Institute, Dr. Gupta has served in a variety of roles throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to his clinical responsibilities, including serving as Chief Medical Officer of COVID-19 Response for Amazon.com, Inc. Additionally, he served as health advisor on the Biden-Harris Transition’s COVID-19 Response team.
Clinically active as a Pulmonary/Critical Care physician, Dr. Gupta’s research has focused on several important issues in global public health. Dr. Gupta helped lead a large research portfolio examining the global burden of non-communicable diseases using the most advanced epidemiologic methods. These efforts were primarily funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and focused on attributable disease from tobacco use globally, with particular focus on Mexico, Brazil, China, and Indonesia. A secondary area of focus included assessing the impact of environmental health considerations (e.g., air pollution) on chronic respiratory disease.
He concurrently holds an active commissioning as Major in the United States Air Force Reserve Medical Corps, where he serves a deployable critical care aerospace physician with the 446th Aeromedical Staging Squadron based at Joint-Base Lewis McChord.. In this capacity, Dr. Gupta previously assisted with bolstering the emergency health crisis response capabilities of partner nations in Africa as part of the US State Department’s African Peacekeeping Rapid Response Partnership (“A-Prep”) initiative.
In his current role as Principal Scientist at Amazon, Dr. Gupta provides clinical and strategic leadership to the company’s internal and external COVID-19 response work, including overseeing the funding of clinical trials, expanding its work in public health through community-based initiatives, and ensuring the implementation of evidenced-based workplace health and safety protocols.
Dr. Gupta received his BA from Princeton, MD from Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, Master’s in International Relations from the University of Cambridge, and Master’s in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, regular health policy contributor for national media outlets, and board member on several health-focused nonprofit organizations nationwide.
Dr. Vin Gupta
Science Discovery Award
Creating major disruptive scientific contributions
PATTERN COMPUTER INC. & MR. MARK ANDERSON, CEO
Science for Society Award
Recognizing individuals making impacts in social media, film, books
DR. MARIAN CROAK, GOOGLE INC.
MR. ERIC S. YUAN & ZOOM VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS
Science Impact Award
Creating major impacts on people’s lives
DR. KATALIN KARIKÓ, BIONTECH
DR. DREW WEISSMAN, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Science Inspiration Award
Recognizing unsung heroes who stimulate & inspire
DR. AMANDA RANDLES & DR. MUATH BISHAWI, DUKE UNIVERSITY
This year, for the first time, the AJN Awards Board is also issuing two Certificates of Commendation, for extraordinary efforts and impact on issues around the COVID-19 pandemic. The certificates are: