2019 Mustafa Prize Laureates’ Busts Unveiled in Tehran
Two of the laureates were present at the ceremony, held on November 1, MSTF Media reported.
The busts of the 2019 Mustafa (PBUH) Prize laureates Ali Khademhosseini, Ugur Sahin, Umran S. Inan, Hossein Baharvand, and Mohammad Abdolahad, were unveiled at the event, held on the anniversary of the 2019 Mustafa (PBUH) Prize Ceremony.
It was attended by Mahdi Saffarinia, CEO of the Mustafa (PBUH) Science and Technology Foundation and President of Royan Institute Abdolhossein Shahverdi as well as Hossein Baharvand and Mohammad Abdolahad.
Ali Khademhosseini, a 2019 Mustafa(PBUH) Prize laureate in Life & Medical Science and Technology for his contributions to the field of “Nano- and Microfabricated Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications,” in a video message stated that he is “super honored” for having a bust of him erected in the Scientists’ Garden.
Expressing hope for future scientific cooperation, Khademhosseini said “The Mutafa (PBUH) Prize is doing so much to honor scientists around the world, and is trying to build an ecosystem that values scientific innovation.”
Umran S. Inan, President of Koç University, Turkey and a 2019 Mustafa (PBUH) Prize laureate from Islamic Countries in Ionospheric and Atmospheric Physics for his achievements in “Understanding of Whistler-Mode Wave-Particle Interaction in Near-Earth Space, and the Electrodynamic Coupling between Lighting Discharges and the Upper Atmosphere,” delivered a virtual speech during the event.
He said he is “honored to have been recognized by the Mustafa (PBUH) Prize back in 2019.”
“The Mustafa (PBUH) Prize underscores the universalization of science,” he continued.
Highlighting Iran’s rich history of scientific contributions to the world, he said “To me, this bust symbolizes the deeply-held brotherhood between Iranian and Turkish people.”
“We continue to strive for excellence in science in order to contribute to the betterment of the world for mankind,” Inan added.
Hossein Baharvand, a 2019 Mustafa (PBUH) Prize laureate from Islamic Countries in Stem Cell Biology and Technology for his contributions to the area of “Parkinson’s Treatment and Eye AMD with Stem Cell,” during his speech at the ceremony, appreciated the scientific endeavors of his research team, stating that their great efforts have led to winning this Prize.
Maintaining that “science is a divine blessing,” he announced that their team is moving toward bringing the scientific findings hitherto examined on animals, to the sphere of human life.
He expressed hope that “in a year and a half” the first clinical trial on patients afflicted with Parkinson’s disease and eye AMD will be started.
Mohammad Abdolahad, the 2019 Mustafa (PBUH) Prize laureate from Islamic Countries in Nano Electronic Science and Technology for “Translating the Behavior of Healthy and Cancerous Cells into the Electronic Field (New Methods in Diagnosis of Cancer),” during the speech he delivered at the ceremony, announced that the system for designing which he was awarded the Mustafa (PBUH) Prize last year, has been granted a US patent as the first Iranian cancer diagnosis system in the world.
Honoring the efforts of his research team, he stated that “Less than a year ago, Cancer Diagnostic Probe (CDP) system was entered into the medical clinics, and is being used in many health centers now.”
After showing documentary video clips of the laureates, including that of Ugur Sahin, who is currently working on the potential Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, and who was awarded the 2019 Mustafa (PBUH) Prize in Life & Medical Science and Technology for his achievements in “Development and Clinical Testing of mRNA-based Cancer Vaccines that are Tailored to the Mutation Profile of a Cancer Patient,” the busts of the 5 laureates were finally unveiled in the Scientists’ Garden.
Aimed at honoring the tremendous efforts of the scientific figures who have made impressive progress in science and technology, and who have tried to serve humanity by their scientific achievements, the project of adorning the Scientists’ Garden by a number of scientists’ busts was set up in 2007 by Pardis Technology Park in an area of 10.000 m2.
Through this joint project undertaken by Pardis Technology Park, Iran’s Academy of Sciences, and Iran’s National Elites Foundation, so far the busts of more than 10 scientists from 7 countries have been erected in the Scientists’ Garden.
