Our awards matched the X-shaped trusses on stage quite nicely.

The stage is set at the Hynes Convention Center.

A big thanks to Heaton, CEO of the Gates Medical Research Institute, and Perez, founder and chair of Life Science Cares, for being such great emcees.

An impressive array of MIT cancer researchers and luminaries: Tyler Jacks, Bob Langer, Sangeeta Bhatia, Susan Hockfield, Angela Belcher, Scott Manalis (left to right).

Hope the white wine was good!

A great display of talent driving interdisciplinary R&D. Rosalind Picard (left) of MIT and Iya Khalil (center) of GNS Healthcare, both Innovation at the Intersection finalists; Ana Maiques (right), CEO of Neuroelectrics, an award nominee.

Many laughs were shared.

A crew from Sage Therapeutics came out to support their CEO Jeff Jonas (middle of group in blue jacket), who was a finalist in the CEO category.

This was one of maybe three ties spotted in a room of 400 attendees.

Kamens (left) heads up the nonprofit Addgene, which was a finalist in the Commitment to Diversity category. Nochur (right) presented the Diversity awards at the gala. Nochur is Alnylam's chief regulatory officer and co-leads the company's diversity initiative.

Sangeeta Bhatia of MIT (an Xconomy Awards judge and 2017 award winner) in deep discussion with Akshay Vaishnaw (right), head of R&D for Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.

Jo Viney (left), chief scientific officer of Pandion Therapeutics (Commitment to Diversity finalist) and Steve Holtzman (right), CEO of Decibel Therapeutics (X of the Year finalist, for Activist of the Year); Julia Byers of Lesley University (middle).

So many navy blue checked jackets.

Carl Schoellhammer (left), a Young Innovator finalist, with Lisa Ricciardi (right), the recently appointed CEO of Schoellhammer's startup, Suono Bio.

And they stayed late.

Jeff Bower, Akili's director of scientific development, chats with a colleague.

Buderi, Xconomy's founder, introduces the emcees.

The emcees kick off the show.

"And the winner is..."

Nina Dudnik, CEO of Seeding Labs, goes to the stage to accept her award.

There was a lot of hugging on stage, including with John Maraganore (left) of Alnylam.

After a 16-year journey turning RNAi science into an FDA-approved medicine, John Maraganore (left) of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals wins the CEO award, presented by Rob Perez.

John Maraganore (left) shows off his CEO Award. Rob Perez (right) is the former CEO of Cubist Pharmaceuticals. Both have a taste for blue checked jackets apparently.

This was a super competitive field.

Angela Belcher of MIT accepts her award.

Amir Nashat of Polaris Partners announces the winner of the Patient Partnership Award.

Michael Sherman (right) of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is congratulated for his award by emcee Rob Perez.

A 2018 Xconomy Awards judge and a 2017 Award winner, Bhatia introduced the Lifetime Achievement winner Nancy Hopkins. "As an MIT professor recruited under policies that [Hopkins] championed, it’s not an exaggeration to say that she changed my life."

MassBio's Bob Coughlin (left) presents Hopkins with her Award. Sangeeta Bhatia (right) of MIT introduced Hopkins as her hero.

In her acceptance speech, Hopkins of MIT challenged the audience to do better on gender diversity in biotech.

"Perhaps the single most important lesson we learned about social change is: Time alone does not fix this, people do."

The audience is on its feet when Nancy Hopkins receives her Lifetime Achievement Award.

There were many photo-worthy moments.

A team from Ginkgo Bioworks (a finalist in the Big Idea category) takes in the awards ceremony.

Listening to Nancy Hopkins's acceptance speech.

The program did not disappoint.

James McLaughlin, CEO of Gemini Therapeutics, and Kathleen McCarthy, CSO of Skyhawk Therapeutics.

Young Innovator co-winner, James McLaughlin (right), celebrates. Tom Donovan (middle), who accepted OUTBio's Commitment to Diversity award, thankfully keeps his nose out of the high-five.

Kate Haviland (left), a finalist in the Commitment to Diversity category, celebrates with her team at Blueprint Medicines.

Brett Boghigian, Indigo's head of crop product management (left) and Geoffrey von Maltzahn, Indigo's co-founder and chief innovation officer (right), received the Startup award.

Geoffrey von Maltzahn (left) of Indigo Ag (Startup award winner) catches up with Tim Lu of MIT (X of the Year finalist, as Scientific Founder of the Year).

And they have the sign to prove it. Tango, led by CEO Barb Weber (standing, 2nd from right), was a finalist in the Startup category.

Chris Guiffre, CFO and COO of Pear Therapeutics.

Nice to see people still exchange business cards.

Michael Sherman, chief medical officer of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.

What he said must have been funny. Also, another blue checked jacket!

Cigall Kadoch (5th from the left), a Young Innovator finalist, with people from her startup, Foghorn Therapeutics, a Startup finalist. David Liu (4th from right), a winner of the Big Idea award, and others join in.

Angela Belcher of MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research

Don Nicholson (2nd from right) represented his company Nimbus, which was a finalist in the Innovation at the Intersection category. Nicholson was Nimbus's CEO at the time of the gala, but recently stepped down.

Hmm, a deal in the works? Nimbus's director of business development, Abbas Kazimi (right).

Penny Heaton (3rd from right), one of the evening's emcees and CEO of the new Gates institute, brought her crew out.

Tom Donovan of OUTBio, Abbie Celniker and Bob Coughlin of MassBio (left to right). Liftstream was also a winner but couldn't make it to the gala.

MassBio was out in full force at our gala, and took home one of the Commitment to Diversity awards.

Khalil (middle, in red/orange top) was a finalist in the Innovation at the Intersection category.

Rhiannon Macrae (left), who accepted the award on behalf of Feng Zhang (Discoverer of the Year), and Nina Dudnik, Founder and CEO of Seeding Labs (right) won for Global Science Supporter of the Year.

Members of the GINGER team from the Broad Institute and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The team was a finalist in the Commitment to Diversity category.

The 2018 Lifetime Achievement winner (left) relaxes after the program.

David Liu of the Broad Institute; Aviv Regev, also of the Broad and co-chair of the Human Cell Atlas.

Anna Greka of Brigham and Women's Hospital was an X of the Year finalist, for Translational Researcher of the Year. She and Peter Mundel (left) co-founded Goldfinch Bio.

Well, not quite all of the winners, but the ones we were able to round up after the awards ceremony. Front row, left to right: Tom Donovan of OUTBio, David Liu of the Broad Institute, Rhiannon Macrae (from the lab of Feng Zhang, Broad Institute), Kelly Santomas from Partners Connected Health, Abbie Celniker of MassBio and Third Rock Ventures, Kathleen McCarthy of Skyhawk Therapeutics, Nina Dudnik of Seeding Labs; Back row, left to right: Chris Guiffre of Pear Therapeutics, Kelly Chase of Partners HealthCare, Penny Heaton of the Gates Medical Research Institute, Michael Sherman of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Bob Coughlin from MassBio.