CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The iBIO Institute today announced the three winners of the ninth annual iBIO iCON Awards, considered by many to be the region’s most prestigious honor for life sciences educators, researchers and civic visionaries. The iCON Awards celebrate the accomplishments of outstanding innovators and leaders whose work provides the basis for biotechnology developments worldwide.
The 2015 Civic iCON Award winner is the Searle family, whose commitment to the life sciences spans nearly 130 years. Gideon Daniel Searle founded G.D. Searle & Co. in Omaha, NE in 1888, then moved the company to Chicago in 1910. Here, the company developed some of its most well-known innovations, including Dramamine, Metamucil, NutraSweet and the first contraceptive pill.
In 1964, John G. Searle established the first Searle Fund at The Chicago Community Trust, launching an enduring charitable partnership that has continued to this day. In his will, John expressed the wish that his legacy should support “research in medicine, chemistry and the biological sciences.” Today, more than $220 million has been used to fund biomedical research and innovation in the life sciences..
“It is inspiring to see the lasting impact that John G Searle’s legacy has had on the life sciences community and the Chicago education landscape as whole,” said Karie Thomson, who will accept the iCON Award on her family’s behalf. “On behalf of the Searle family, I would like to thank iBIO for this wonderful recognition.”
“The Searle family can rightly be credited with driving pharmaceutical breakthroughs that have become a ubiquitous part of modern life,” said Warren Ribley, president and CEO of iBIO and the iBIO institute. “But just as important has been the family’s enduring commitment to fostering innovation by supporting emerging scientific minds.”
The 2015 iCON Innovator Award winner is Robert A. Easter, president emeritus of the University of Illinois. During his nearly 40-year career at U of I, Easter served as the dean of the university’s nationally ranked College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, the head of the Department of Animal Sciences and president of the university from 2012-2015.
An expert in livestock feeding, he has co-authored a book on livestock production and has written more than 90 peer-reviewed articles, 11 book chapters, and numerous papers for conferences and industry publications. In 2006, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD), and was appointed as chair of BIFAD in 2007.
Easter is currently a member of the American Society of Animal Science and the British Society of Animal Science, and he serves on the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation and the Governor’s Committee on China.
“I am honored to receive this award from the iBIO Institute, which has acknowledged so many accomplished life science innovators over the years,” said Easter. “I hope that my efforts have made a difference for farmers and livestock in Illinois and the world over.”
The 2015 iCON Knowledge Builder Award winner is Taylor Fusinatto, a middle school science teacher and department chair at Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies in the Evanston Skokie Consolidated School District 65. Fusinatto is an exceptional teacher who strives to bring science to life through real-world connections. She established the first STELLAR GIRLS after school STEM engineering program in the district – now entering its third year – that engages girls in inquiry-based engineering projects that merge content with ingenuity.
Fusinatto has gone above and beyond to provide her students with the best possible educational experience by engaging herself in this field outside of the classroom. She has participated in a materials science and nanotechnology workshop at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and acted as a research assistant on a nano-drug delivery system for chemotherapeutic medicine at University of Illinois Chicago. She has also worked on educator ambassador programs with NASA and the EPA to bring authentic science instruction into the classroom.
“I am thrilled to be accepting this esteemed award,” said Fusinatto. “It is heartening to see the iBIO Institute acknowledge the importance of exposing young students to the real-world applications of scientific concepts. By enabling students to receive real-world experience with technology, we will inspire the next generation of innovators.”
“Dr. Easter and Ms. Fusinatto have contributed immensely to the development of new scientific ideas, whether they be in the laboratory or in the minds of students,” said iBIO chairperson Linda Friedman, senior vice president and general counsel at Astellas US. “The examples these innovators set in their respective fields are deserving of emulation, and very well deserving of this years’ iCON awards.”
For more information on the iCON Awards Dinner, including ticket/table registration and sponsorship opportunities, please visit http://ibioicon.eventbrite.com. The ninth annual iBIO iCON Awards Dinner will take place September 29 at Morgan Manufacturing in Chicago.
About iBIO Institute
The mission of the iBIO Institute is to orchestrate business leadership in delivery of world-class educational programs and job-creating new technology ventures. The Institute’s EDUCATE Center delivers science and math programs for teachers and students, thereby inspiring the next generation of innovators and helping restore America’s leadership in technology education. The Institute’s PROPEL Center increases the number and success rate of early-stage life sciences companies in Illinois.
To learn more about the iBIO Institute and its programs, visit www.ibioinstitute.org.
About iBIO
iBIO’s mission is to make Illinois and the surrounding Midwest one of the world’s top life sciences centers: a great place to do business, and a great place to grow new technology ventures. iBIO promotes sound public policy at the local, state and federal levels; improves our region’s ability to create, attract and retain businesses; and orchestrates industry involvement to help solve America’s math and science education crisis. We thereby contribute to the well-being of people worldwide through agricultural, bio-industrial and medical applications while creating new jobs, wealth and prosperity.
To learn more about iBIO and its programs, visit www.ibio.org.
iBIO’s Leadership Sponsors are AbbVie Inc., Astellas Pharma US, Baxter International Inc., Horizon Pharma Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.
