August 2005: "I want to know how God created this world... I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details." This statement of Albert Einstein reflects his uninhibited curiosity and ingeniousness that led him to monumental achievements. It is also what drives the recipients of a tribute bearing the great scientists’ name, the Albert Einstein Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Life Sciences. This award is given yearly in a meeting   hosted by the Jerusalem Development Authority, in Jerusalem, Israel, to path-breaking leaders whose vision and commitment have contributed to the critical advancement of life-saving and life-enhancing technology.

Jeremy Levin, Global Head of Strategic Alliances at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR), was one of nine people to receive the 2005 Albert Einstein Award on June 29 in Jerusalem. Most prominent guests at the ceremony attended by more than 200 leaders in life sciences were Shimon Perez, the Deputy Prime Minister and Uri Lupoliansky, the Mayor of Jerusalem. Former awardees of this prestigious prize include Francis Collins, the Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute.

When introducing the Honoree Jeremy Levin, Uri Lupoliansky, who presented the awards at the ceremony, explained why Jeremy was chosen: “As Global Head of Strategic Alliances for Novartis, Jeremy Levin has formed partnerships with more than 200 academic centers and 100 biotechnology companies in more than 20 countries, to find new ways to understand disease and create new medicines for society’s benefit…. Jeremy’s talent and success at developing and leading collaborations between partners in academia, biotech, and pharmaceuticals has been recognized widely.”

While admitting that he is deeply honored by the Albert Einstein Award, Jeremy himself is also quite humble about it: “This award recognizes the work of a lot of people; many Novartis associates are involved in developing a collaboration.  The contribution of each one is important from identifying, evaluating, securing and ultimately managing the relationships.  It is this integration of effort and talent that ultimately makes a collaboration successful. It is a huge team effort.” Jeremy also acknowledges the importance of   the Novartis vision. “It is Novartis’ model of innovation and willingness to take risks that makes our work possible and led to this award.”