Stuart H. Orkin

Awards

1. 2022

   Canada Gairdner International Award

   Biology

   For the discovery of the molecular mechanism responsible for the switch from fetal to adult hemoglobin gene expression during human development and translating that knowledge into a novel treatment for the hemoglobin disorders – sickle cell disease and beta- thalassemia.

2. 2024

   Shaw Prize — Life Science and Medicine

   Biology

   For their discovery of the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying the fetal-to-adult hemoglobin switch, making possible a revolutionary and highly effective genome-editing therapy for sickle cell anemia and β thalassemia, devastating blood diseases that affect millions of people worldwide.

3. 2026

   Breakthrough Prize — Life Sciences

   Biology

   For elucidating the mechanism driving the switch from fetal to adult hemoglobin and validating it as a therapeutic target for sickle-cell disease and beta-thalassemia.