The Bruce and Cynthia Sherman Charitable Foundation awarded the 2020 Sherman Prizes to David Rubin, MD, Gary Wu, MD, and Jessica Allegretti, MD.
Here's what you should know:
1. The Sherman Prize recognizes individuals who have made "exceptional and pioneering contributions that have transformed the care of people with inflammatory bowel disease." The foundation awards two $100,000 prizes annually to individuals that have made significant contributions to address the challenges associated with IBD and a $25,000 prize to an emerging leader in the field.
2. Dr. Rubin is the chief of gastroenterology at University of Chicago Medicine. He is renowned in the IBD community for his work around demonstrating inflammation as a risk factor for colorectal cancer in IBD patients. He received one of the $100,000 awards.
3. The other $100,000 award winner is Dr. Wu, the director of the Penn Center for Nutritional Science and Medicine at Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Wu published a pioneering study of the gut microbiome in IBD patients and published research on the relationship between diet and the microbiome.
4. Dr. Allegretti is the associate director of the Crohn's and Colitis Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. She received the $25,000 emerging leader award for her work around building a world-class fecal microbiota transplantation program.
Bruce Sherman, founder of the Sherman Prize said: "For five years, my wife, Cynthia, and I have celebrated the achievements of healthcare professionals whose persistent efforts have made such a huge impact. And each year we've been awed by extraordinary individuals, like Drs. Gary Wu, David Rubin and Jessica Allegretti, who give so much of themselves to help people with IBD."