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ABOUT THE WINNERS

The medal will be awarded to the first author of Original and Review article, and all of the authors will receive the certificates. Each first author’s short biography is as follows.

Original article Division; awardee Noemi D. Paguigan

Noemi Paguigan earned her B.S. in Chemistry in her native country at the University of the Philippines. She then came to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she earned a Ph.D. in Medicinal Biochemistry in 2017, where she studied bioactive compounds from fungi. The next step in her scientific journey of studying natural products was at the University of Utah as a postdoctoral chemist in the lab of Dr. Eric Schmidt. In 2021, she transitioned her skills in mass spectrometry to KBI Biopharma, Inc. in Durham, NC, where she is working currently.

Review article Division; awardee Andy Crump

Andy Crump graduated from universities in the UK and USA with degrees in Biological Sciences and Ecology/Ethology. This was followed by several years as a Research Biologist at Imperial College, London investigating the behaviour and biocontrol of Tsetse flies, the insect vectors of African trypanosomiasis. Since then, he has travelled, observed and reported, living and working in several countries in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands, amassing over 40 years experience in all aspects of Communications and Information Design, with a particular interest in visual and cultural literacy. He began his long-term interest in the ivermectin story while working with the UK’s Centre for World Development Education (CWDE) in the mid-1980s, prior to helping set up the audiovisual components of the Panos Institute in London in 1988. In 1991, to coincide with the 1992 Earth Summit, he published the world’s first Dictionary of Environment and Development and was also asked to set up an Image Library at the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) based at the WHO in Geneva. As TDR was the leading United Nations agency involved in the development, distribution and use of ivermectin to combat firstly Onchocerciasis and subsequently Lymphatic Filariasis, his TDR stint allowing him to continue studying ivermectin closely. He relocated to Tokyo in 2004 and has been involved with the Kitasato Institute ever since, working closely alongside Nobel Prize winner Prof Satoshi Omura, with whom he has published many ivermectin-related articles, TV and on-line productions. An accomplished author, photographer and multimedia producer, his communications work, especially in the science and health fields, is wide-ranging and diverse. His output has included an array of books, articles, multimedia products and interactive packages - including many on ivermectin. He has also undertaken photojournalism presentations, exhibitions, and various electronic publishing activities, including video, TV, CD-ROM and website projects. Clients have included several UN agencies, NGOs, industry, academia and European Union and Japanese government agencies. He was a Visiting Professor at Kitasato University (2004–2021), where he taught Japan’s first ever Science Communication course. He has also been a Visiting Professor at Keio University and St Luke’s International University in Tokyo and at Yamanashi University. He has been mentoring young Japanese researchers, especially those associated with Japan’s Medical Governance Research Institute (MEGRI), as well as researching, writing, editing and publishing in various leading scientific journals, and is a regular contributor to the Applied Technology publication.