Today, the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences has honored the Allen Institute’s Editorial and Media team with a prestigious Anthem Award for excellence in the Health: Campaign – Non-Profit category. The Awards are the largest and most comprehensive social impact award recognizing purpose- and mission-driven work from people, companies, and organizations making an impact across the globe.

This year, the Allen Institute took home top spot (gold) for its outreach campaign, Attempting the Impossible: A 20-Year Journey to Learn the Language of the Brain, chronicling the journey and significance of the MICrONS Project, a watershed scientific achievement to produce a complete functional wiring diagram of a portion of the mouse brain. The project highlights the potential of large-scale, collaborative, scientific moonshots that embody our core pillars of big, team, and open science. The campaign featured engaging, multichannel, integrated storytelling that reached a record audience on every continent except Antarctica.  

Congratulations to the team behind the work: Rob Piercy, Erik Dinnel, Jenny Burns, Peter Kim, Madeline Burchard, Brian Cama, Steven Hurd, Liz Dueweke, Amity Addrisi, and Anna Brindle along with Tyler Sloan from Quorumetrix Studio. This recognition not only honors the work of our Communications team, but also the scientists and researchers at the Allen Institute dedicated to advancing human health through foundational research.

“This has been a challenging year for the impact sector, but the Winners of the 5th Annual Anthem Awards have shown their resilience and continued commitment to a better tomorrow,” said Anthem Awards General Manager, Patricia McLoughlin. “This year’s winners are a source of hope, and I am excited to celebrate their work with the world today.”

The 5th Annual Anthem Awards received more than 2,000 submissions from 42 countries worldwide. By amplifying the voices that spark global change, the Anthem Awards are defining a new benchmark for impactful work that inspires others to take action in their communities.