The Vilcek Foundation

The Vilcek Foundation is thrilled to announce that the exhibition “Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery,” developed in partnership with the School for Advanced Research, is now on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, from October 20, 2024 - January 12, 2025. Developed in partnership with the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico, “Grounded in Clay” is curated by the Pueblo Pottery Collective: A group of more than 60 community curators representing 21 Pueblo communities as well as non-Native stewards of Pueblo history and culture. Works include historic and modern works of Pueblo pottery from the collections of the Indian Arts Research Center at SAR, and from the Vilcek Foundation. "Grounded in Clay" offers a powerful understanding of Pueblo pots as vessels of community-based knowledge and personal experience. Community curators contributed written and audio recordings of their insights on the works that are incorporated into the exhibition and to the accompanying catalog from Merrell Publishers. We encourage our friends and colleagues in Texas to learn more and plan your visit today. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e6T449XV #Pottery #PuebloPottery #GroundedinClay #VilcekFoundation #Art #MuseumofFineArtsHouston #MFAH #NativeAmericanPottery #Exhibition #Museum #CeramicArt #Pueblo #NativeAmerican #IndigenousHistory #NewMexico #Texas

The Vilcek Foundation's Cofounder and CEO Jan Vilcek lived through the darkest moments in Europe’s history before becoming one of the world’s most celebrated immunologists and philanthropists. You can hear Jan's story for yourself in “Love and Science,” a memoir published by Seven Stories Press and now available as an audiobook from Spotify, Audiobooks.com, Audible, Google Play, and hoopla Digital. Long before he became a renowned scientist and philanthropist, Jan Vilcek was born in Slovakia, a child of Jewish parents at a time when Jews were being persecuted all across Europe. He owes his family’s survival to the courage of brave people and extraordinary luck. After fleeing communist Czechoslovakia with his wife, Marica Vilcek, in 1964, Vilcek received a research faculty appointment at New York University that enabled him and Marica to move to the US. Vilcek's research leadership in immunology at NYU led to the development of one of the most important and transformative drugs in contemporary medicine: Remicade. ⁣ 🎧 Tune in wherever you listen to audiobooks to hear the full inspiring life story as narrated by actor Daniel K. Isaac, with a postscript read by Jan Vilcek himself. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/epAzYH2y #JanVilcek #BiomedicalScience #Science #Immunology #Audiobook #Books #Listen #Memoir #LoveandScience #ImmigrantStories #Spotify #Audible #GooglePlay #RefugeeStories #Czechoslovakia #Remicade #Slovakia #Philanthropy

The New York Immigration Coalition will be at the Soundview Cornerstone Community Center on Tuesday, Oct. 29, with representatives from New York Legal Assistance Group and other organizations to provide free food, essentials, and services to immigrant individuals and families. Details below. The event is co sponsored by New York City Council member Amanda Farías, by the New York City Council, and by the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development. Check out the event fliers in English and Spanish below, and contact events@nyic.org for more information.

#MotivationMonday: 💡 In a new video, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)shines a spotlight on Dr. Huda Zoghbi, a leading pediatric neuroscientist, professor of pediatrics, and recipient of the 2009 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science.⁣ ⁣ In the video, Zoghbi shares about her experience traveling to the United States from Lebanon in 1976, expecting to only stay for the summer. Instead, as the Lebanese Civil War proliferated, she found herself unable to return home. She ultimately attended medical school at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, before returning to Houston for residency. Trained in the “devastating” but vital field of child neurology, Zoghbi broke new barriers in understanding neuropsychiatric disorders such as Rett syndrome.⁣ ⁣ For her leading breakthroughs in Rett syndrome, she received the Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science. Zoghbi is now a professor of pediatrics, molecular and human genetics, neuroscience, and neurology at the Baylor College of Medicine and is the director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital.⁣ ⁣ Check out the full video to learn more about Dr. Zoghbi’s fascinating and inspiring career: https://lnkd.in/gnPMSmSP #Science #STEM #WomeninScience #WomeninSTEM #LebaneseAmerican #ImmigrantStories #ImmigrantinScience #Neuroscience #ChildNeurology #InspiringVideo #RettSyndromeAwareness #Lebanon #VilcekPrize #WomeninMedicine #DiversityinSTEM

Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine! Election is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.⁣ ⁣ Dr. Bottazzi, senior associate dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, is a tropical and emerging disease vaccinologist, global health advocate, and co-creator of a patent-free COVID-19 vaccine technology. Her work led to the development of Corbevax in India and IndoVac in Indonesia with approximately 100 million doses delivered, and for which she and Dr. Peter Hotez MD PhD were nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.⁣ ⁣ In 2023, Bottazzi received the Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare. Awarded jointly by The Vilcek Foundation and The Arnold P. Gold Foundation, the award recognizes an outstanding immigrant healthcare professional in the United States, and honors the positive impact that accessible and humanistic care has on public health. Bottazzi received the award for her leadership in the development of a patent-free open-source vaccine for COVID-19, and for her career-long work to support healthcare education and access in vulnerable populations globally. ⁣ ⁣ Learn more about Dr. Bottazzi’s election and join us in congratulating her enormous accomplishment!⁣ 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e8k3b5UM #NationalAcademyofMedicine #AwardWinner #TropicalDisease #EmergingDisease #Vaccinologist #GlobalHealthAdvocate #PatentFreeVaccine #COVID19VaccineTechnology #WomenInScience #Science #STEM #WomeninSTEM

🎬 In ”Ashima,” filmmaker Kenji Tsukamoto chronicles the internal journey of Japanese American rock climber ashima shiraishi. Filmed in 2014, this powerful documentary highlights Shiraishi's ascent of "Golden Shadow," in South Africa's Rocklands. Tsukamoto’s lens focuses on Ashima’s experience out of the spotlight: As the only child of an immigrant mother and father living in New York City, Shiraishi navigatees school, homework, and the pressures of the expectations that the climbing world, fame, and her family place on her.⁣ ⁣The film is a powerful portrait of an immigrant family, and the tensions that children of immigrants face in navigating their responsibilities to their families and themselves. An alumni of Brigham Young University, Kenji Tsukamoto was born in Japan, and spent parts of his early childhood both in Japan and in the United States. He earned a Rocky Mountain Emmy Award for his first short documentary feature, "Beehive Stories: Millard County" for PBS. The Vilcek Foundation was proud to host Tsukamoto and present “Ashima” as part of New American Perspectives at the 44th Annual Hawai‘i International Film Festival. Developed in partnership with HIFF in 2007, New American Perspectives is a platform to celebrate immigrant contributions to contemporary film and cinema. 🔗 Read more about Tsukamoto's powerful work at the following link: https://vilcek.co/ashimalo 📸 Film stills from "Ashima" courtesy of Kenji Tsukamoto. #Climbing #RockClimbing #AshimaShiraishi #Film #Documentary #Cinema #HIFF #HIFF44 #NewAmericanPerspectives #ImmigrantStories #KenjiTsukamoto

🧬 🦇 A new study published in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by the lab of Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch has been investigating the molecular basis of bats' extraordinary resilience to viruses like SARS-CoV-2.⁣ ⁣ Bats have immune systems that are highly specialized, often allowing them to live with viruses that would typically be deadly in humans, without any clinical symptoms. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jaenisch’s lab has been investigating the processes behind this resilience. In their latest study, the lab uncovered an antiviral mechanism in bat cells that allows viruses to enter the cells but prevents them from replicating their genome and completing the hijacking process.⁣ ⁣ The researchers are now focused on identifying the specific genes involved in this antiviral mechanism, and exploring how they interact with the virus during infection. As COVID-19 continues to circulate, the researchers believe continuing to fill in these gaps in knowledge will lead to the development of better vaccines and antiviral strategies.⁣ ⁣ Born in Germany, Rudolf Jaenisch received the 2007 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science for pathbreaking work in genetic engineering. Read more about his lab’s latest study in PNAS at the following link. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/epp4scDN ⁣ #COVID19 #Research #PNAS #Science #BiomedicalScience #Bats #SARSCoV2 #JaenischLab #ImmuneSystems #ImmuneResponse #NewFindings #Laboratory #Vaccines #Antiviral #VilcekPrize

🚨 Applications are now open for the NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA)! 🚨⁣ ⁣ The $8,000 unrestricted cash grant is available to artists living in New York State and/or one of the Tribal Nations located therein. It is awarded in fifteen different disciplines over a three-year period and the application is free to complete. The NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship is not a project grant, but is intended to fund an artist’s vision or voice, at all levels of their artistic development.⁣ ⁣ The 2025 award cycle will review applications in Architecture/Environmental Structures/Design, Choreography, Music/Sound, Photography, and Playwriting/Screenwriting.⁣ ⁣ Learn more to find out if you’re eligible and apply by December 17!⁣ ⁣ The Vilcek Foundation is a proud supporter of NYFA's Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program.⁣ 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e-VHVA9S 📸 Image by Frankie Cordoba, courtesy of Unsplash #Art #NYFA #NYSCA #Immigrants #ImmigrantArtists #NewYork #NewYorkArtists #Art #Artist #Grant #ApplyNow #ApplicationsOpen #2025Awards #ArtistGrant #ArtsFunding

🇵🇭 🎬 Award-winning documentary filmmaker Ramona Diaz ’s latest work, “And So It Begins,” explores the rise of autocracy in Filipino politics and the movement to protect truth and democracy during the contentious 2022 presidential election between Leni Robredo and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.⁣ ⁣ The film also highlights the importance of independent journalism and free press for democracy, with insights from Maria Ressa, founder of Rappler, and recipient of The Nobel Prize. Earlier this month, we presented “And So It Begins” as part of our #NewAmericanPerspectives program at the 44th Hawai‘i International Film Festival, hosting talks and screenings with Diaz at the festival and with the Center for Philippine Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. We are delighted to share that the film has been selected by the Philippines as an official entry to the 97th Annual Academy Awards. "And So It Begins" was produced by CineDiaz and ITVS. 🔗 Read more about Ramona Diaz and the film at The Vilcek Foundation. https://lnkd.in/d5Ar8dse #RamonaDiaz #AndSoItBegins #Film #Cinema #Documentary #DocumentaryFilm #Filipino #MariaRessa #Democracy #FilipinoPolitics #AcademyAwards #NobelPrize #ImmigrantStories #Philippines #WomenDirectors #WomenMakeMovies #LeniRobredo

Welcome back to #MeetTheTeamMonday!⁣ ⁣ This week, we’re highlighting Sophia Tedesco, our multitalented administrator at The Vilcek Foundation. Sophia manages all aspects of human resources and internal bookkeeping and coordinates with senior staff on major decisions regarding internal and external policy for the organization and its operations. As administrator, Sophia works with all departments to ensure best practices and compliance with state and local guidelines regarding labor, health, and safety. ⁣ An avid arts lover, Sophia’s role at the foundation builds upon past experience at other arts organizations like the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in the Hudson Valley, New York, and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.⁣ ⁣ Sophia studied communications and journalism at The George Washington University, and while there served as a collegiate representative for The New York Times; as a public relations assistant for NPR’s Us & Them podcast; and as classical press assistant for the Kennedy Center. ⁣ Outside of work, Sophia is especially passionate about film, food, music, and the performing arts, and can often be found attending screenings and performances at one of New York’s many arts venues.⁣ ⁣ 🔗 Learn more about Sophia’s wide-ranging work for the Foundation: https://lnkd.in/eDrMkB6z 📸 Headshot photo courtesy of the Vilcek Foundation and Peter Hurley. #Administrator #Administration #Art #ArtsAdministration #VilcekPrize #VilcekFoundation #HumanResources #KennedyCenter #PerformingArts #OurTeam #Journalism #Team #ArtsandCulture #Nonprofit #NonprofitArts #Philanthropy #NonprofitAdministration #NonprofitJobs #GeorgeWashingtonUniversity #GWAlumni #GWU