# International Harrington Prize Jointly Awarded to Drs. Arul Chinnaiyan and Charles Sawyers

_Friday, June 26, 2026 at 6:20 PM EDT · science · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

![International Harrington Prize Jointly Awarded to Drs. Arul Chinnaiyan and Charles Sawyers — Primary](https://www.harringtondiscovery.org/files/news/share/chinnaiyansawyers.jpg)

The thirteenth annual Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine has been jointly awarded to Arul Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD, and Charles L. Sawyers, MD. Chinnaiyan is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the S.P. Hicks Endowed Professor of Pathology at the University of Michigan Medical School. Sawyers is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and holds the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Chair in Human Oncology and Pathogenesis at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

The prize recognizes their work that identified genetic changes driving prostate cancer and developed precision therapies for the disease. Chinnaiyan identified the TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusion, the most common genetic driver of prostate cancer and a foundational biomarker for diagnostics. Sawyers developed the androgen receptor inhibitors enzalutamide and apalutamide, which received FDA approval in 2012 and 2018.

Chinnaiyan and Sawyers also co-led a team that found high rates of mutations in advanced prostate cancers susceptible to PARP inhibitors such as olaparib, now a standard treatment. The two have developed a framework for diagnosis and treatment of advanced prostate cancer. The prize was established in 2014 by the Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals and the American Society for Clinical Investigation to honor physician-scientists for innovation and potential clinical application.

A committee of ASCI Council members and the Harrington Discovery Institute Scientific Advisory Board reviewed nominations from academic medical centers in seven countries before selecting the recipients. The co-recipients will each receive a twenty thousand dollar honorarium. They will deliver the Harrington Prize Lecture at the 2026 AAP/ASCI/APSA Joint Meeting on April 17, serve as featured speakers at the 2026 Harrington Scientific Symposium on May 20, and are invited to publish an essay in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Priscilla Hsue, MD, the 2025-2026 ASCI President, said the prize recognizes scientific breakthroughs that change the course of medicine and that the work of the recipients exemplifies this mission. Jonathan S. Stamler, MD, president and co-founder of the Harrington Discovery Institute, said the recipients embody the best of physician-scientist innovation and that their contributions underscore the power of advancing scientific ideas to patient care.

## Sources

- [Harrington Discovery Institute](https://www.harringtondiscovery.org/news-media/2026/03/24/international-harrington-prize-jointly-awarded-to-drs-arul-chinnaiyan-and-charles-sawyers)

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