BOSTON, MA, USA - Jul 8, 2014 - Boston Children’s Hospital today announced the creation of two new annual awards that will be conferred at the Global Pediatric Innovation Summit + Awards, Taking on Tomorrow  (#PedInno14), taking place October 30-31, 2014, at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston. The awards will honor innovators who are making an impact in pediatric health care and will be presented at a luncheon on October 31.

“There is a unique passion that exists in the field of pediatrics,” said Sandra L. Fenwick, President and CEO, Boston Children’s Hospital. “No matter where you work - be it in Boston or across the globe - there is a special bond that drives us and brings us all together, striving to innovate and look at problems in new ways for the benefit of our patients. The annual Taking on Tomorrow  awards will allow us to recognize some of the brightest champions whose work is making a difference to the families we serve.”

The Lifetime Impact Award will honor a clinician, researcher or business person who has made extraordinary and sustained leadership contributions throughout his/her career to improve health care in the field of pediatrics.

The Rising Star Award will recognize the outstanding achievements of an innovator, or team of innovators, aged 45 or younger in the field of pediatric health care. The recipient will receive $25,000 to advance the work for which they were nominated.

Both awards are peer-nominated awards. To be considered, nominations must be received no later than August 22.

Full descriptions of each, including criteria, the nomination process and deadlines, are available on the Summit web site: www.takingontomorrow.org/2014-pediatric-innovator-awards.

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Boston Children’s Hospital’s Global Pediatric Innovation Summit + Awards 2014, Taking on Tomorrow, takes place October 30 + 31 at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston. It provides an engaging forum to build partnerships, accelerate innovations and help reshape the future of pediatric medicine. The dynamic and comprehensive agenda gathers innovators and thought leaders from across the globe to examine clinical, informatics and business opportunities in pediatric innovation.

Taking on Tomorrow features IBM as its premier sponsor. Additional sponsors, to date, include Cerner Corporation, Claritas Genomics, Genzyme, Life Technologies, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Partners include the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), The Institute for Pediatric Innovation, National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC), and Network for Excellence in Health Innovation (NEHI). Media partners include the Boston Business Journal, Bio-IT World, Clinical Informatics News, MIT Technology Review and WBUR-90.9 FM (Boston’s NPR News Station).

Follow the Summit online @BCH_Innovation #PedInno14.