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STAT Madness Winners
Every year, top researchers and academic groups from across the US compete in our STAT Madness tournament. See who’s taken home the crown!

Official Rules  |  FAQ  |  2024 Bracket

2024
2024 CHAMPION

Baylor College of Medicine

Researchers at Baylor have developed a wastewater-based epidemiology method capable of monitoring hundreds of human viruses in communities, potentially serving as an early warning system for outbreaks.

Summit Audience Winner

Weill Cornell Medicine

Lonny R. Levin, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology, Weill Cornell Medicine – representing “Male Birth Control”.

2023
2023 CHAMPION

NYU College of Dentistry

Dentistry researchers at NYU College of Dentistry have developed a more targeted treatment for gum disease.

SUMMIT AUDIENCE CHOICE

Boston University

Xin Zhang, Ph.D., distinguished professor of engineering, Boston University – representing “Boosting MRI”.

2022
2022 Champion

University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine

The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania was the winner, for its research on mice that “sweat out” fat.

Summit Audience Choice Winner

University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine

The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania was the winner, for its research on mice that “sweat out” fat.

2021
2021 Champion

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center & Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Researchers pursuing novel treatments for herpes infections and diabetes win STAT Madness.

editors’ pick

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

An HIV lab’s pivot to develop a single-dose Covid-19 vaccine wins STAT Madness ‘Editors’ Pick’.

2020
2020 Champion

MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research

A team from MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research engineered a fluorescing carbon nanotubule to better see tiny ovarian cancer tumors.

editors’ pick

University of California + University of Chicago Booth’s School of Business

Discovery of racial bias in health care AI wins STAT Madness ‘Editors’ Pick’.

2019
2019 Champion

University of Michigan

Michigan tops STAT Madness voting with a potential treatment for tinnitus.

editors’ pick

Whitehead Institute

The team, led by Shawn Liu, invented a form of genome editing that might one day treat the most complicated of human diseases: those affecting the brain.

2018
2018 Champion

East Carolina University

A team of researchers from East Carolina University won the crowd favorite with a study finding that adding a protein to oxygen-starved cardiomyocytes helps them stave off injury from heart attack.

editors’ pick

MD Anderson Center

A research team from Texas that is studying how our gut microbes help us respond to cancer therapy wins the Editors’ Pick in STAT Madness.

2017
2017 Champion

University of Pittsburgh + University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

A prosthetic arm that can ‘feel’ is 2016’s most innovative idea.

editors’ pick

Tufts University

Silk can preserve blood samples at almost any temperature, potentially allowing diagnostic tests in places without access to refrigeration.