Physicist and inventor Alfred E. Mann has received City of Hope’s President’s Award, the organization’s highest honor for individual achievement, in recognition of his dedication to the advancement of science, biomedical research and patient care.
 Alfred Mann (Photo by AmyCantrell.com) |
Mann, who has created lifesaving devices such as insulin pumps and continuous glucose sensors for diabetes patients, received the award during City of Hope’s 11th annual Rachmiel Levine Diabetes and Obesity Symposium on March 20.
“We are privileged to honor Al Mann for his visionary contributions to medicine and his unparalleled commitment to improving the human condition,” said Michael A. Friedman, M.D., president, chief executive officer and Irell & Manella Cancer Center Director’s Distinguished Chair. “Al has had a long and remarkable career, with accomplishments as a physicist and as a leader in the biotechnology field. He is an entrepreneur whose inventions transformed the lives of millions of patients, and he continues to inspire us by looking for new ways to ease suffering and restore quality of life.”
Mann began his career in the aerospace industry before redirecting his talents to biomedicine. He created a cardiac pacemaker, a cochlear implant to restore hearing to the deaf, a retinal prosthesis to counter damage to eyesight and a neurostimulator to reduce pain. He also invented the MiniMed insulin pump, which helps control diabetes.
Mann founded 17 companies and is still affiliated with nine of them. He is now chair and chief executive officer of MannKind Corporation, which develops therapeutics and drug delivery technologies to treat cancer and diabetes and other metabolic diseases. He currently is focused on developing a form of insulin that can be inhaled.
Mann founded and endowed the Alfred Mann Foundation, a nonprofit research organization devoted to the development of advanced medical products, and he served as chair of the board of trustees for the foundation from 1985 to 2006. He founded and currently is chair of the board of trustees of the Alfred Mann Institutes, which promote development of biomedical technologies at academic centers.
He also holds leadership positions at several academic, biomedical and health-care organizations.
“I’m deeply honored to have received this award from City of Hope, where scientists and physicians share my drive for discovery and my passion for improving lives,” said Mann.
Mann is the third recipient of City of Hope’s President’s Award. Other recipients include California Congressman David Dreier and philanthropist Denny T. Sanford.
