Aziz Sancar Science, Service and Incentive Awards were handed out to recipients by the President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
In his speech at the award ceremony, President Erdoğan said that a strong healthcare infrastructure was an important advantage for pandemics and expressed his appreciation to the selfless health care workers who worked day and night during the coronavirus pandemic.
"During the pandemic, the world, particularly developed countries, did not do well in terms of solidarity and assistance."
Noting that the new waves of the pandemic were coming up, Erdoğan continued, "Turkey is closely following vaccine development efforts in China, Russia and the US and also works hard to develop its own. I hope that in spring, we will be using this vaccine on our people. I consider the fourth meeting of the Health Scientific Group of the Turkic Council to be an important step in enhancing cooperation and sharing experiences. During the pandemic, the world, particularly developed countries, did not do well in terms of solidarity and assistance. Those who were in need were left by themselves, let alone getting help."
"Turkey has set an example”
Stressing Turkey's exemplary attitude, Erdogan added, "We took it as our duty to help out anyone regardless of their religion, language, ethnicity and nationality. During the pandemic, we helped out 155 countries and 8 international organizations with medical supplies. We tried to do our best in helping ourselves and our friendly nations. This humanitarian and conscientious attitude will keep on being our approach."
"We are determined to take Turkey to the top"
Stressing that they were determined to take Turkey to the top, Erdoğan continued, "We expect the biggest contribution from our scientists. With your guidance, we will constantly move further and fulfill the responsibilities given to us by history. I would like to thank each and every one of you for your work and efforts."
The TUSEB Aziz Sancar Science Award was given to Prof Taner Demirer thanks to his works in the fields of hematology, medical oncology and stem cells.
The TUSEB Service Award was given to Koçak Farma Pharmaceuticals. The TUSEB Incentive Awards were given to Dr Abdullah Ercüment Çiçek from Bilkent University, Dr Arif Ergin Çetin from Izmir Biomedicine Genome Center and Assoc Prof Mehmet Gönen from Koç University.
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