Fries Prize for Improving Health

First presented in 1992, the Fries Prize for Improving Health recognizes an individual who has made major accomplishments in health improvement and with the general criteria of the greatest good for the greatest number. It is intended for an individual who has done the most to improve health. The $100,000 prize could be awarded to an educator, a scientist, a program inventor, an activist, a public figure, a private citizen, or any other person who has made a significant contribution to improvement of the public health.

The Prize is intended to celebrate important work and to:

  • Highlight and showcase the factors and approaches that most improve the public health.
  • Heighten the visibility of successful ideas, programs, innovations, and policies that have improved health.
  • Encourage others to emulate the accomplishments of the Prize nominees and recipients.

The Prize is an original bronze statue “Celebration” created by famed sculptor Robert Holmes for the Fries Foundation and cast again as an additional original edition for each recipient using the lost wax method. 

Award Presentation
The Fries Prize for Improving Health is presented annually in the fall. View the past recipients.

 

 

About the Awards | Elizabeth Fries Award | Nominations | Selection Jury

2023 Fries Prize for Improving Health Recipients

Nobel Prize Winner Katalin Karikó, PhD, received the 2023 Fries Prize for Improving Health. Karikó was honored for persevering through years of challenges to pioneer work in advancing the mRNA platform, the discovery of which has changed the vaccine field.
Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat, MD (RADM, USPHS, RET), received the 2023 Fries Prize for Improving Health. Schuchat was honored for turning science into impact by preventing infant deaths due to Group B Streptococcal (GBS) disease and saving millions of lives through extraordinary public health leadership.