Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists is a annual academic recognizing excellence in Science. Organized by Blavatnik Family Foundation & The New York Academy of Sciences, it covers the North America region. Established in 2007.
The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists honor early-career, faculty-rank researchers and are run jointly by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and The New York Academy of Sciences, having grown from a regional program launched in 2007 into national programs in the United States plus parallel awards in the United Kingdom and Israel. The flagship US National Awards cover three categories — Life Sciences, Chemical Sciences, and Physical Sciences & Engineering — with winners selected by juries of distinguished scientists that include Nobel laureates, National Medal of Science recipients and members of the National Academy of Sciences.
One National Laureate per category receives $250,000 in unrestricted funds — money that, unlike most research grants, can be spent on anything — and five finalists per category receive $15,000 each. Honorees are celebrated at an annual ceremony in New York City each fall, with travel costs covered. For a pre-tenure or newly tenured scientist, the award is a powerful external validation signal at exactly the career stage where recruitment, retention and promotion decisions are made.
There is no fee, but you cannot simply apply: nominations come from an invited group of US research universities, independent research institutions, academic medical centers and government laboratories — each allowed up to three nominees, one per category — plus nominations from the Scientific Advisory Council and past laureates. The real competition therefore starts with your institution's internal selection, often months before the official deadline, so approach your research development office early. Candidates must be born in or after the cutoff year (1984 for the 2026 cycle), hold a doctorate and a tenured or tenure-track US faculty position; nominations open in the fall, with the next cycle opening in Fall 2026.