SCTR TL1 graduate wins prestigious Lasker Foundation Award

SCTR TL1 Alumni, Catherine M. Bridges, M.D., Ph.D., was named one of five winners of the prestigious Lasker Foundation Essay Contest. For the 2024 contest, the foundation invited early-career scientists and health professionals to address a scientific question that warrants greater attention in biomedical research.

Recognizing that it is essential to have the public’s support of science, the Lasker Foundation has given out awards since 1945 in Basic Research, Clinical Research, Special Achievement, and Public Service to draw attention to biological discoveries and clinical advances and their role in improving public health.

Winners were drawn from a pool of 167 submissions from 19 countries. Each of the five winners collects a $5,000 stipend to assist with educational expenses and is invited to participate in the annual Lasker Foundation luncheon in September. You can view the winning essays in the July 15 issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) and on the Lasker website (see link below).

Dr. Bridges is a member of the Medical University of South Carolina’s (MUSC) College of Medicine Class of 2024, and a graduate of the Medical Scientist Training Program and the South Carolina Clinical and Translational Research (SCTR) Institute’s TL1 Program. Currently in her transitional year internship at Lexington Medical Center, Dr. Bridges has matched to the University of Alabama Birmingham in Diagnostic Radiology.

Click here to read all the winning essays, learn more about each winner, and hear what inspires their work.