Philip Tan Among Winners of 2021 Catalyst Award

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Published:
November 10, 2021

WNCG student Philip Tan was among the winners of the 2021 Catalyst Award, part of the first phase of the Healthy Longevity Global Competition. Winners were announced by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) last month at the inaugural Global Innovator Summit.

The Healthy Longevity Global Competition is a “multiyear, multistage, and multimillion-dollar international competition seeking potential breakthrough innovations aiming to extend human health and function later in life.” Founded by NAM, the competition is coordinated by a network of eight administrating organizations, which represent over 50 countries and territories.

The currently-running first stage of the competition—the Catalyst Phase—seeks innovative ideas for “extending the human healthspan.” Applications are accepted from individuals from any background: science, medicine, health, technology, finance, social sciences, and beyond. The main judging criteria are novelty and innovation.

The Catalyst Phase began in 2020 and will confer awards in annual cycles through 2022. The 2021 competition received over 1,000 applications; Tan was one of only 25 winners in the U.S.-based Catalyst Award. 

Awardees each receive $50,000 USD to be used to support their proposed projects.

Philip Tan is a second-year Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Austin advised by Professor Nanshu Lu. His research interests focus on improving accessibility to medical diagnosis through developing low-cost and unobstructive novel methods and devices.

More information

www.healthylongevitychallenge.org/