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New
York,
NY,
March
29, 2010
- NYU
Langone
Medical
Center
microbiologist
Dr. Jan
T.
Vilcek
was a
proud
recipient
of the
inaugural
Slovakia
Goodwill
Ambassador
Award,
the
distinguished
award of
honor
presented
to
Slovaks
who have
made
significant
contributions
to
society
while
living
abroad.
The
award
was
bestowed
on March
20, 2010
in a
ceremony
in
Bratislava
by the
Slovak
Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs,
Miroslav
Lajcak.
Dr.
Vilcek
is a
co-discoverer
of
Infliximab,
a
therapeutic
drug
that
revolutionized
the
treatment
of
inflammatory
disorders
such as
Crohn's
disease
and
rheumatoid
arthritis.
He and
his wife
Marica
continue
to grant
hundreds
of
thousands
of
dollars
to
foreign-born
Americans
in the
arts and
sciences
through
the
Vilcek
Foundation
and the
Vilcek
Prizes.
Headquartered
in New
York
City,
the
Foundation
has just
announced
the
recipients
of the
2010
Vilcek
Prizes
and will
present
the
awards
on April
7 to
accomplished
biomedical
scientists
and
culinary
artists.
During
the
ceremony,
Minister
Miroslav
Lajcak
explained
that the
awards
were
intended
to
improve
the
perception
of
Slovakia
abroad,
as well
as serve
as an
expression
of
appreciation
from the
Slovak
people
for the
accomplishments
of their
compatriots
abroad.
According
to the
Ministry
of
Foreign
Affairs,
more
than
twenty
people
were
nominated
from the
specialties
of
science,
media,
arts,
culture
and
sports.
Together
with Dr.
Vilcek,
the
Ministry
celebrated
Dr.
Jaroslav
Fabian,
a
physicist
working
in
Germany
who has
done
pioneering
research
in the
field of
spintronics;
and Mr.
Tomas
Valasek,
a
Director
at the
Centre
for
European
Reform,
and a
former
Policy
Director
at the
Slovak
Ministry
of
Defense.
"We
proposed
Dr.
Vilcek
for the
Slovakia
Goodwill
Ambassador
Award
for two
reasons:
firstly,
for his
remarkable
body of
research,
and the
contributions
he has
made to
the
lives of
hundreds
of
thousands
of
people
he has
helped
as a
result
of his
work;
and
secondly,
for the
order of
magnitude
of his
generosity
and
creativity,
in
establishing
the
Vilcek
Foundation
to honor
fellow
immigrants
and
their
innovations,"
said Dr.
Barbaralee
Diamonstein-Spielvogel.
Dr.
Diamonstein-Spielvogel,
an
author,
television
interviewer
and
producer,
preservationist,
and
civic
activist,
initiated
Dr.
Vilcek's
nomination
along
with her
husband,
Ambassador
Carl
Spielvogel,
former
US
Ambassador
to the
Slovak
Republic
and
Chairman/CEO
of Carl
Spielvogel
Enterprises.
Fleeing
communist
Czechoslovakia,
Dr.
Vilcek
came to
the
United
States
with his
wife in
the
1960s.
Arriving
in New
York
with no
more
than a
suitcase
and the
names of
a few
professional
contacts,
he had
what he
calls
"beginner's
luck"
and
joined
the
faculty
of the
New York
University
School
of
Medicine,
while
Marica,
an art
historian,
secured
a
position
at the
Metropolitan
Museum
of Art.
In the
1980s,
Dr.
Vilcek's
research
at NYU
contributed
to the
development
of a
novel
treatment
for
autoimmune
diseases,
now
marketed
as
Remicade
by
Johnson
&
Johnson.
Dr.
Vilcek
donated
a very
significant
portion
of the
royalties
from the
sales of
Remicade
to New
York
University
School
of
Medicine.
Estimated
to be
worth
$105
million,
Dr.
Vilcek's
gift is
believed
to be
the
largest
ever
made by
an
active
faculty
member
to a
medical
institution.
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