Dr. Michael Welsh, Professor of Internal Medicine and longtime EHSRC member, has won the 2025 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for his fundamental research on cystic fibrosis (CF), which paved the way to new therapies that have transformed the health and life expectancy of people with CF.
Lasker Awards, sometimes called “America’s Nobels,” are among the world’s most prestigious biomedical and clinical research awards.
Welsh shares the award with Jesús (Tito) González (formerly, Vertex Pharmaceuticals) and Paul A. Negulescu (Vertex Pharmaceuticals) for their key roles in developing a novel treatment for CF – a triple-drug combination that saves the lives of people with this lethal genetic disease.
The EHSRC has released a new 
Chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s Disease, chronic respiratory disease, and childhood neurodevelopmental disorders have increased dramatically in the United States over the past few decades. Research shows that these diseases are linked to environmental factors such as air pollution, microplastics, and harmful chemical exposures.
NIEHS is at the forefront of conducting research that protects public health by revealing how environmental factors impact health and disease and supporting communities in responding to environmental disasters such as chemical spills and extreme weather events like hurricanes. NIEHS P30 environmental health research centers are at the core of this mission by advancing scientific understanding, addressing emerging public health threats, improving community health, and reducing health care costs.