Awards / Others

Advancing Manufacture of Cell and Gene Therapies ​IX

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Advancing Manufacture of Cell and Gene Therapies Award

NOMINATION DEADLINE: July 15, 2025

PURPOSE

The Advancing Manufacture of Cell and Gene Therapies Award recognizes outstanding contributors to the development and commercialization of Cell-Based Therapies. Past recipients include Bob Nerem, Kim Warren, Peter Zandstra, Greg Russotti and Paula Alves. 

The award nominations will be judged according to criteria as set forth in this document. 

AWARD

For each conference, an award of cash and a commemorative plaque will be presented to the recipient at the conference.  The 2026 award is sponsored by NIIMBL and Engineering Conferences International (ECI).

ELIGIBILITY

This Award is open to all industrial and academic researchers and practitioners in the field of cell-based therapies. It is expected that the award recipient will register and attend the conference. 

EVALUATION

Nomination packages will be evaluated by a committee of leaders in the field established by the conference chairs

CRITERIA

The nominations will be judged on the originality, impact, and overall quality of work; significance to the development and commercialization of cell-based therapies; and other supporting information in the nomination package. 

NOMINATION PACKAGE (all documents should have 1-inch margins all around and use font no smaller than Arial 11 or Times 12 point).  Self-nominations are welcome.  The nomination package must consist of the following items:

1. A nomination cover sheet;
2. A nomination letter of no more than 3 pages including a description of the nominee’s contributions to the development and commercialization of Cell-Based Therapies; and
3. A resume including publications, patents, and other contributions by the nominee.

Optional items:

A maximum of two supporting letters from individuals in the field may be provided. 

The items in the nomination package should include the following information:

1. Name of nominee
2. Present position (exact title)
3. Mailing address (including email)
4. Education, including (a) Institution; (b) Degree received; (c) Major or field 
5. Positions held
   • Companies or institutions 
   • Positions or titles 
   • Time periods
6. Academic and/or professional honors and awards
7. Technical and professional society memberships and offices held
8. Supporting letters
9. Nominator’s name, address (including email), signature and date

THE COMPLETE NOMINATION PACKAGE should be submitted in electronic form as a SINGLE PDF FILE WITH THE NAME OF THE NOMINEE, and should include the scanned, signed letters of support (if any). 

Nomination packages are due by midnight EDT July 15, 2025 to:

Barbara Hickernell, ECI Executive Director, at barbara@engconfintl.org

Christopher Hewitt Outstanding Young Investigator Award

NOMINATION DEADLINE: July 15, 2025

Engineering Conferences International is pleased to announce that nominations for the Christopher Hewitt Outstanding Young Investigator Award are now open.  The award recipient will be a promising young scientist whose work shows exceptional promise in the field of process development of cell based and gene based therapies.  The award includes the opportunity to present their research at the conference as well as the waiver of the conference registration fee. 

Chris was a leading biological engineer, distinguished for his research using flow cytometry and cell sorting to understand the interaction of the cell with the bioreactor environment within such diverse areas as microbial fermentation, bio-remediation, bio-transformation, brewing and cell culture. He was also the co-founder of the Centre for Biological Engineering at Loughborough University, where he developed a world-leading team in regenerative medicine bioprocessing. In particular, his team made a significant contribution to the literature on the culture and recovery of fully functional human mesenchymal stem cells in stirred bioreactors based on sound biochemical engineering and fluid dynamic considerations essential to scale-up for commercialization.  In recognition of his achievements, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2018. 

Chris Hewett was an active contributor to the ECI conference series “Advancing Manufacturing for Cell based and Gene Based Therapies”.  

Eligibility:  Any graduate student or post-doc is eligible as is any researcher with fewer than 5 years of industrial or academic experience.  Individuals who meet these criteria are invited to submit an abstract to be considered for presentation at the 2026 Advancing Manufacture of Cell and Gene Therapies Conference, curriculum vitae; and two supporting letters of recommendation.  

Submission of Nominations: Nominations will be accepted from January 1, 2025 through July 15, 2025.  The abstract should be submitted through the normal ECI procedure but a copy of it should accompany the curriculum vita and letters of recommendation.  

Please email to barbara@engconfintl.org – subject line should read: Christopher Hewitt Award Nomination for (name of nominee)