In a special announcement futrescienceprize.org website announced the 2021 winners of the Future Science Prize that included the name of world-renowned virology expert Prof. Malik Pieris as the recipient of the Life Science Prize for the year 2021.
Future Science Prize is a privately funded science prize established by a group of renowned scientists and successful entrepreneurs in 2016, aiming at recognizing scientific breakthroughs and innovations in the Greater China region (including Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau).
A cash prize worth 1 million USD is awarded to winners of each category that are selected regardless of their nationality, as long as their achievements are original and innovative, have long-term significance or have passed the trial of time.
Along with Prof. Pieris, Professor Yuen Kwok-yung has also been awarded the Life Science Prize – in recognition of their work contributing to the understanding of emerging diseases such as SARS and Covid-19. A special statement futurescienceprize.org website said, “Kwok-Yung Yuan and Joseph Sriyal Malik Peiris have made seminal contributions to our understanding of emerging infectious diseases from SARS in 2003 to COVID-19, which led to more effective responses and strategies in controlling these diseases.”
Prof. Sriyal Malik Pieris is a Sri Lankan born researcher who obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Oxford in 1981. He is currently a professor at the University of Hong Kong. During Sri Lanka’s ongoing struggle against the COVID 19 pandemic, Prof. Malik Pieris gave a tremendous support with his expertise to the health officials and researchers in Sri Lanka guiding them through this difficult period.
