20 Years of Prizes: Vilcek Foundation Honors 14 New Immigrants and Visionaries
The Vilcek Foundation has awarded 189 immigrants and cultural leaders in the arts and sciences since 2006
NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Vilcek Foundation celebrates its 20th year of awarding immigrants and cultural leaders. We present prizes to 14 individuals working in biomedical research, art history, and fashion. These prizewinners hail from 12 countries: Austria, Canada, Colombia, France, India, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Togo, Turkey, the United States, and Vietnam.
Presented annually since 2006, the Vilcek Foundation prizes salute immigrant contributions to societal advancement in the United States, and recognize excellence in the arts and sciences. Since the inception of the prizes program two decades ago, the foundation has awarded $9.6 million to individuals whose perspectives, creativity, and vision have enriched the United States.
“From uncovering new biological pathways for treating diseases to creating new biobased, sustainable textiles, immigrants in the U.S. are developing innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems,” says Rick Kinsel, president of the Vilcek Foundation. “The Vilcek Prizes not only recognize outstanding immigrant achievements in the arts, biomedical science, and art history, but are investments in the future of American progress as well.”
The 2026 Vilcek Foundation Prize categories include Biomedical Science, Fashion, and Art History.
The Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Biomedical Science
The Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Biomedical Science honor immigrants who are leading advancements in biomedical research in the United States. Co-founder Jan Vilcek, whose groundbreaking work led to the development of the lifesaving drug Remicade®, established these prizes to support distinct ingenuity in scientific inquiry. In 2026, four outstanding immigrants are awarded prizes in biomedical science:
Karolin Luger is awarded the $100,000 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science for her career dedication to the study of nucleosomes. Her research led to the groundbreaking capture of a high-resolution image of chromatin and resulted in the development of novel drug treatments for diseases including cancer. Born in Austria, Luger immigrated to the United States to study nucleosomes and their impact on gene expression. She is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a distinguished professor and Jennie Smoley Caruthers Endowed Chair of Biochemistry at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Luger has built a laboratory that encourages community and welcomes diverse perspectives.
The three recipients of the $50,000 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science are Takashi Akera, Aashish Manglik, and Berna Sozen:
Takashi Akera receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for his creative approach to investigating selfish DNA, an anomaly resulting in biased inheritance of genes that can lead to fertility issues and genetic disorders. An immigrant from Japan, Akera came to the United States to be a part of its collaborative scientific culture. Today, Akera leads a team of scientists from around the world at the National Institutes of Health who are working to manipulate selfish DNA to prevent challenges with female fertility.
Aashish Manglik is awarded the 2026 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for revealing the conformational complexity of G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs), transforming how scientists understand cellular signaling. Originally from India, Manglik grew up in the Midwestern United States. His unique upbringing led him to develop a nonconformist attitude, which has carried over into his research as an associate professor of biochemistry at the University of California, San Francisco.
Berna Sozen is awarded the 2026 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for pioneering innovative experimental models to advance understanding of human development and for championing inclusive research environments. Sozen was born in Turkey, where she overcame numerous systemic barriers to her education. Today, Sozen works as an assistant professor in the Department of Genetics at the Yale School of Medicine due to her impressive body of research.
The Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Fashion and Culture
The Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Fashion & Culture honor immigrants documenting fashion through writing, research, curation, styling, and image making. This year, five exceptional immigrants are awarded prizes in fashion:
Tanya Meléndez-Escalante receives the $100,000 Vilcek Prize for Fashion & Culture for her work as an arts administrator and fashion curator at The Museum at FIT (MFIT) where she develops meaningful exhibitions and programs that reveal the hidden diversity of talent from across Latin America. Growing up in Mexico City, Meléndez-Escalante moved to the United States to complete her MA in Museum Studies: Costume and Textiles from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), SUNY. She has created numerous educational programs built on international collaboration and inclusivity.
The four recipients of the $50,000 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Fashion & Culture are Diego Bendezu, Jalan and Jibril Durimel, and Natalie Nudell.
Diego Bendezu is awarded the 2026 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Fashion & Culture for his powerful visual storytelling that centers Latin American and immigrant narratives. His rapidly ascending influence is reshaping how the fashion industry sees beauty and cultural authenticity. Originally from Peru, Bendezu’s love for photography began when his parents gave him a camera and a camcorder to document his daily life when they left to work abroad in the United States. Bendezu now captures the beauty of underrepresented communities globally through fashion photography.
Twin brothers and creative partners Jalan and Jibril Durimel are awarded the 2026 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Fashion & Culture in recognition of their ability to present fashion as part of a broader, evocative exploration of fictitious storytelling, color, and light. Born in France to parents from Guadeloupe, the Durimels were raised in Miami and St. Maarten. The various cultures that shaped their upbringing informed their photography practice and inspires audiences to be curious about other people, cultures, and clothing.
Natalie Nudell receives the 2026 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Fashion & Culture for her writing, research, and database development that preserves the holistic history of fashion in the United States. Nudell was born in Canada to European and Middle-Eastern immigrant parents. A fashion and textile historian at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), SUNY, Nudell created the Fashion Calendar Research Database (FCRD), which helps illuminate how underrepresented communities are integral to the foundation of the industry.
The Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Fashion & Design
The Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Fashion & Design highlight immigrants elevating fashion through design practice, material innovation, makeup, and hairstyling. In 2026, four accomplished immigrants are awarded prizes in fashion & design:
Peter Do receives the $100,000 Vilcek Prize in Fashion & Design for his ability to create unique and versatile clothing for daily life without sacrificing durability or comfort. Do moved from his native Vietnam to the suburbs of Philadelphia when he was 14, which exposed him to the often turbulent life of immigrants in the United States. His mother helped steady him during this time, teaching Do the importance of resiliency. She and other women remain primary sources of inspiration for his creations, which he designs with the everyday woman in mind.
The three recipients of the $50,000 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Fashion & Design are Jacques Agbobly, Marcelo Gutierrez, and Uyen Tran:
Jacques Agbobly is awarded the 2026 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Fashion & Design for centering Afropolitan identity, Black multiplicity, and diasporic memory. Originally from Togo, Agbobly was inspired to pursue a career in fashion after witnessing their mother braiding hair to support their new life in Chicago. A full-time designer and professor at Parsons School of Design, Agbobly continues to build an American fashion house that centers the multiplicity of Black identity while carrying forward the craftsmanship and memory of their home country.
Marcelo Gutierrez receives the 2026 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Fashion & Design for redefining beauty standards in the industry through his subversive and culturally grounded makeup artistry. An immigrant from Colombia, Gutierrez has become one of the most sought-after makeup artists and creative directors in the United States. His work redefines who is seen, celebrated, and considered beautiful in fashion.
Uyen Tran is awarded the 2026 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Fashion & Design for her leadership in the development of sustainable products that support the health of people and the planet without sacrificing quality. Growing up in the coastal city of Da Nang, Vietnam, Tran witnessed the horrific environmental effects of climate change caused by fast-fashion practices. She founded TômTex Inc., named after the Vietnamese word for plants, which transforms mushrooms and organic materials into fabrics that mimic the beauty and performance of leather without plastics or toxins.
The Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History
The Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History acknowledges professionals whose work transforms institutions in the arts through the preservation and advancement of United States culture:
Colonel Matthew Bogdanos receives the $100,000 Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History for his lifelong dedication to recovering looted antiquities and his work to safeguard cultural artifacts. His extraordinary career sits at the unique intersection of military service, criminal prosecution, and cultural preservation. Bogdanos was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2005 for leading a multiagency team into the Iraq Museum in Baghdad to recover 9,000 antiquities from eight countries that had been looted. He currently serves as the assistant district attorney in New York City where he leads a task force to repatriate stolen artifacts. In accepting the Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History, Colonel Matthew Bogdanos declined the cash prize. The Vilcek Foundation will instead honor his request to donate the funds to nonprofit organizations of his choosing.
The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation for the arts and sciences more broadly. Since it was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, the foundation has awarded over $17 million in prizes and grants in support of this mission.
The Vilcek Foundation is a private operating foundation, a federally tax-exempt nonprofit organization under IRC Section 501(c)(3). To learn more, please visit vilcek.org.
Contact
Shelby Roller
The Vilcek Foundation
212-472-2500
shelby.roller@vilcek.org
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SOURCE The Vilcek Foundation
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