CAMBRIDGE, MA–(Marketwire – Aug 23, 2011) – Today, PatientsLikeMe‘s Research Director, Paul Wicks Ph.D., was named a TR35 Honoree and spotlighted as Humanitarian of the Year by MIT Technology Review magazine, which profiled him in an in-depth article and video. The TR35 list recognizes the world’s top innovators under the age of 35, spanning medicine, energy, computing, communications, nanotechnology, and other emerging fields.
“Technology innovation is key to driving growth and progress in the areas of research, medicine, business and economics,” said Jason Pontin, editor-in-chief and publisher of Technology Review. “This year’s group of TR35 recipients is driving the next wave of transformative technology and making an impact on the way we live, work and interact. We look forward to profiling and working with these technology leaders each year, and watching their continued advancement in their respective fields.”
Dr. Wicks has been honored for his work in connecting patients to advance real-world understanding of their diseases. A neuropsychologist by training, Dr. Wicks first became involved in online communities through BUILD-UK, an online forum for people with ALS in his native United Kingdom. He joined PatientsLikeMe in 2006, where he has architected the website’s medical framework that is currently being used by 110,000+ patients with more than 1,000 conditions. The work of Dr. Wicks and the PatientsLikeMe research team has been published in dozens of scientific articles, including the most recent in Nature Biotechnology on accelerating clinical development that reported on the effect of lithium on ALS.
“Paul has made a real difference in thousands of patients’ lives and helped to build a system that is transforming healthcare,” says Jamie Heywood, Co-founder and Chairman of PatientsLikeMe (and MIT alumni). “All of us at PatientsLikeMe are thrilled that he has been honored with both prestigious awards.”
Chosen by a panel of expert judges and the Technology Review editorial staff, who evaluated more than 300 nominations, Dr. Wicks will receive his award at the emtech MIT 2011conference held at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, MA from October 18-19, 2011. All of the 2011 TR35 winners will be featured the September/October issue of Technology Review and online at www.technologyreview.com/tr35/.
About PatientsLikeMe
PatientsLikeMe® (www.patientslikeme.com) is the world’s leading online health data sharing platform. PatientsLikeMe® creates new knowledge by charting the real-world course of disease through the shared experiences of patients. While patients interact to help improve their outcomes, the data they provide helps researchers learn how these diseases act in the real world and accelerate the discovery of new, more effective treatments. [Follow company news on www.twitter.com/PatientsLikeMe and https://blog.patientslikeme.com]
About Technology Review, Inc.
Technology Review is an independent media company owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). More than two million people around the globe read our publications, in five languages and on a variety of digital and print platforms. We publish Technology Review magazine, the world’s oldest technology magazine (established 1899); daily news, analysis, opinion, and video; and Business Impact, which explains how new technologies are transforming companies, disrupting markets, or creating entirely new industries. We also produce live events such as the annual emtech MIT conference.
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