CORRECTING and REPLACING The Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance Awards Funding to Seven New York City-Based Cancer Research Scientists

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– class= »bwalignl »>
Sixth bullet should read: A finalist in last year’s prize, Dr. Vakoc’s
research employs a novel CRISPR technique … (instead of A finalist in
last year’s prize, Dr. Mason’s research employs a novel CRISPR
technique…).

The corrected release reads:

THE PERSHING SQUARE SOHN CANCER RESEARCH ALLIANCE AWARDS FUNDING TO
SEVEN NEW YORK CITY-BASED CANCER RESEARCH SCIENTISTS

The Pershing Square Sohn Prize winners are making bold advances in
research for all cancers including leukemia, lymphoma, lung, pancreatic,
and breast cancer

The Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance (“the Alliance”) today
announced seven winners of the third annual Pershing Square Sohn Prize
for Young Investigators in Cancer Research (“the Pershing Square Sohn
Prize”). Each will receive $200,000 in funding per year for up to three
years to enable them to continue to pursue explorative and
high-risk/high-reward research. Due to the number of high-caliber
applicants, in addition to six winners fully funded by the Alliance,
this year marks the formation of a unique partnership with The New York
Community Trust (“The Trust”), which will support a seventh prize winner.

The Pershing Square Sohn Prize will enable each exemplary recipient to
pursue groundbreaking research at a stage where traditional funding is
often lacking. With this support, the Alliance continues to identify and
support future leaders and innovators who can accelerate the potential
for cures. The funding will permit continued work in the search for new
therapeutic avenues on cancer treatment and eradication. Specific areas
of study include genetic alterations in malignant cells, treatment
options for radioresistant cancers, and the creation of a new technique
to scan proteins.

Formed in 2013, this highly competitive initiative was created by a $25
million alliance formed by The Pershing Square Foundation and The Sohn
Conference Foundation to help bridge the gap between academia and the
business community. The Pershing Square Sohn Prize is awarded to
scientists based in New York City, a hub for a number of leading
academic institutions, research facilities, and hospitals. In order to
facilitate these collaborations, each Prize winner is given a mentor in
the pharmaceutical industry and the opportunity to present his or her
work to scientific and business audiences. In the three years since its
inception, The Alliance has already established itself as an innovator
in the world of philanthropy due to its unique and exemplary methods of
identifying talent and vetting potential candidates.

This year’s winners are:

• Omar Abdel-Wahab, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: Dr.
  Abdel-Wahab’s research focuses on the identification of novel
  transcripts, pathways, and therapeutic strategies to target
  spliceosomal-mutant malignancies in leukemias.
• Uttiya Basu, PhD, Columbia University Medical Center: Dr.
  Basu’s research focuses on infections disease induced DNA alterations
  in B cell malignancies. The goal is to develop antibody
  mediated-therapy for B cell lymphomas.
• Christopher Mason, PhD, Weill Cornell Medical College: A
  finalist in last year’s prize, Dr. Mason’s research focuses on using
  new computational and biochemical methods to target and re-program
  specific sites of epigenetic aggressiveness in AML (acute myeloid
  leukemia) patients.
• Agnel Sfeir, PhD, NYU School of Medicine: Dr. Sfeir’s research
  focuses on identifying the molecular players in the chromosome biology
  of breast cancers. The goal is to uncover the mechanistic basis of DNA
  double-strand pathway repairs and reduce the initiation, progression,
  and drug resistance of cancers.
• Samuel Sidi, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: Dr.
  Sidi’s research focuses on genetic mutations in tumors and the
  creation of the first viable treatment options for patients with
  radioresistant cancer. He is being funded through the partnership with
  The New York Community Trust, which has several permanent funds
  dedicated to cancer research. The Trust targets them to support
  innovative, early-career researchers at New York institutions. It will
  use two funds, the Carol and Charles Spaeth Memorial Fund and the
  Traer Fund, to support one of the Pershing Square Sohn Young
  Investigator Awards.
• Christopher Vakoc, MD, PhD, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory: A
  finalist in last year’s prize, Dr. Vakoc’s research employs a novel
  CRISPR technique for ‘scanning’ proteins that reveals the key
  molecular details for how they can cause a cancer, which may guide the
  development of next generation cancer therapies.
• Andrea Ventura, MD, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center:
  Dr. Ventura’s research applies new genome-editing technologies to
  identify the molecular mechanisms underlying lung cancer initiation
  and progression to help model and possibly overcome acquired
  resistance to targeted anti-cancer therapies in multiple forms of
  cancer.

Additional details about the Prize winners can be found on the PSSCRA
website at https://psscra.org/winners/.

“We are pleased to announce our third cohort of the Pershing Square Sohn
Prize winners,” said Bill Ackman, co-founder of The Pershing Square
Foundation and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P. “We
formed this prize to enable talented scientists to pursue bold research
at a critical time in their careers. We are extremely pleased with the
network the Pershing Square Sohn Prize has created and hope through
collaboration we can accelerate the potential for a cure.”

“The Sohn Conference Foundation has a long history of supporting those
who aim to find an end to the plague of cancer,” said Evan Sohn, vice
president of the Sohn Conference Foundation. “In recent years, the
science community has made notable progress in this journey for a cure,
although much work still remains. This Prize ensures that our most
talented minds are able to pursue their life altering work as they
continue the fight against cancer’s relentless assault on our global
community.”

“Once again, the quality of this year’s applicant pool was truly
superlative and we continue to be deeply impressed with the research
conducted by these young investigators as well as the spirit of
collaboration among New York’s life-sciences researchers and the
institutions with whom they’re working,” said Olivia Tournay Flatto,
President of the Pershing Square Foundation. “We are thrilled to name
these newest researchers as Pershing Square Sohn Research Alliance Prize
winners and look forward to witnessing the culmination of their efforts
as they search for innovative and groundbreaking cures and treatments.”

“Our partnership with the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance
pairs their rigorous selection process for identifying promising local
cancer researchers with funds in The New York Community Trust dedicated
to advancing the field of medicine,” said Irfan Hasan, The Trust’s
senior program officer for health.

As part of the selection process, The Pershing Square Sohn Cancer
Research Alliance relied on the guidance of a highly accomplished
advisory board that reflects the culture of collaboration the Alliance
wanted to implement. Prize Advisory Board members include Jeanne B.
Ackman, MD, Director, Thoracic MRI, Radiologist, Massachusetts General
Hospital, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School; Mikael Dolsten,
MD, PhD, President , Worldwide Research and Development, Pfizer, Inc.;
Laurie Glimcher, MD, Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean, Weill Cornell
Medical College; Allan Goodman, PhD, President and CEO, The Institute of
International Education; Pablo Legorreta, Founder and Chief Executive
Officer, Royalty Pharma; Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, PhD, Assistant
Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Oncology, Columbia
University Medical Center, Author of “The Emperor of All Maladies”;
James E. Rothman, PhD, Fergus F. Wallace Professor of Biomedical
Sciences, Yale University, 2013 Nobel Prize Winner in Physiology or
Medicine; Bruce Stillman, PhD, President and CEO, Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory; Marc Tessier-Lavigne, PhD, President, The Rockefeller
University; and Craig Thompson, MD, President and CEO, Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

About The Pershing Square Foundation

The Pershing Square Foundation is a private family foundation, based in
New York, founded in December 2006 by Karen and Bill Ackman. The
Foundation has committed more than $375 million in grants and social
investments to support exceptional leaders and innovative organizations
that tackle important social issues and deliver scalable and sustainable
impact. Bill is the CEO and portfolio manager of Pershing Square Capital
Management, L.P. For more information visit: www.pershingsquarefoundation.org.

About The Sohn Conference Foundation

The Sohn Conference Foundation is dedicated to the treatment and cure of
pediatric cancer and other childhood diseases. The Foundation supports
cutting-edge medical research, state-of-the-art research equipment, and
innovative programs to ensure that children with cancer survive and
thrive. The Foundation raises its funds through premier investment
conferences and special events, including its renowned annual New York
Sohn Investment Conference.

Founded in 1995, the Conference honors the memory of Ira Sohn, a Wall
Street Professional who lost his battle with cancer at age 29. The
Foundation has expanded its reach to include the Sohn London Conference,
Sohn San Francisco Conference, Sohn Canada Conference, Sohn Hong Kong
Conference, and Sohn Tel Aviv Conference. To date, the Foundation has
raised $70 million. More information on the Sohn Investment Conference
is available at www.sohnconference.org.

About The New York Community Trust

Since 1924, The New York Community Trust has been the home of charitable
New Yorkers who are committed to improving life and work in the City and
its suburbs. Thanks to donors—including teachers and nurses,
entrepreneurs and investors—The Trust supports effective nonprofits that
help make New York a vital place to live, learn, work, and play, while
building permanent resources for the future. The Trust welcomes new
donors. Information at nycommunitytrust.org.

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