Award Presentations & Lectures

AAI Lifetime Achievement Award

Chair
Akiko Iwasaki, HHMI, Yale Sch. of Med., USA, AAI President

Award Recipient

Distinguished Fellows of AAI Class of 2024 Acknowledgment

Chair
Akiko Iwasaki, HHMI, Yale Sch. of Med., USA, AAI President

The Distinguished Fellows of AAI annually recognizes members for distinguished careers and outstanding scientific contributions as well as their service to AAI and the immunology community. It honors active, long-term members (25 or more years) who have demonstrated one or more of the following: excellence in research accomplishment in the field of immunology; exceptional leadership to the immunology community in academia, foundations, nonprofits, industry, or government at a national or international level; notable distinction as an educator.

Dr. Iwasaki will acknowledge the honorees prior to the start of the President's Address.

AAI ASPIRE Awards Lecture—Siyuan Ding

Chairs
Penghua Wang, UConn Hlth.
Christopher Jondle, Western Michigan Univ. Homer Stryker MD Sch. of Med.

Award Recipient

AAI ASPIRE Awards Lecture—Chaoran Li

Chairs
Nichol E. Holodick, Western Michigan Univ. Homer Stryker MD Sch. of Med.
Yee Ling Wu, Loyola Univ. Chicago

Award Recipient

AAI-BD Biosciences Investigator Award Presentation and Lecture

Generously supported by BD Biosciences

Chair
Stephen Jameson, Univ. of Minnesota Med. Sch., USA, AAI Vice President

Award Recipient

AAI-BioLegend Herzenberg Award Presentation and Lecture

Generously supported by BioLegend

Chair
Joan Goverman, Univ. of Washington, USA, AAI Secretary/Treasurer

Award Recipient

John C. Cambier
Univ. of Colorado Sch. of Med., USA
From conception to clinical target: the CD79 story

Dr. Cambier is honored in recognition of exemplary research contributions that have been integral to understanding B cell receptor signaling and its modulation.

Dr. Goverman, AAI President Akiko Iwasaki, and Gene Lay, CEO, BioLegend, will present the award immediately prior to the lecture.

AAI Lancefield Mid-Career Achievement Award Presentation and Lecture

Chair
Julie M. Jameson, California State Univ., San Marcos, USA, AAI Committee on the Status of Women Chair

Award Recipient

Stephanie Eisenbarth, Northwestern Univ. Feinberg Sch. of Med., USA, How the gut mucosa regulates the immune response to food allergens

Dr. Eisenbarth is honored in recognition of her outstanding research on how innate immune activation regulates adaptive immunity and her exemplary commitment to teaching and service.

Dr. Jameson and AAI President Akiko Iwasaki will present the award immediately prior to the lecture.

AAI Distinguished Service Award

Chair
Loretta L. Doan, AAI Chief Executive Officer

Award Recipient

Eugene M. Oltz, Ohio State Univ. Col. of Med., USA

Dr. Oltz is recognized for outstanding service as editor-in-chief of The Journal of Immunology, 2018–2023.

AAI President Akiko Iwasaki will present the award during the AAI Business Meeting.

AAI ASPIRE Awards Presentations

Chair
Loretta L. Doan, AAI Chief Executive Officer

Award Recipients

These awards recognize early career research accomplishments and professional promise in the field of immunology.

AAI President Akiko Iwasaki will present these awards during the AAI Business Meeting.

AAI ASPIRE Awards Lecture—David R. Martinez

Chairs
Catarina Hioe, Icahn Sch. of Med., Mount Sinai
Justin Richner, Univ. of Illinois, Chicago

Award Recipient

David R. Martinez
Yale Sch. of Med., USA
Immunologic approaches to emerging and re-emerging RNA viruses

ASPIRE Awards recognize early career research accomplishments and professional promise in the field of immunology. The award lectures will be followed by brief abstract presentations on related topics.

AAI ASPIRE Awards Lecture—Ruth A. Franklin

Chairs
Katrin Mayer-Barber, NIAID, NIH, USA
Christopher A. Hunter, Univ. of Pennsylvania Sch. of Vet. Med., USA

Award Recipient

Ruth A. Franklin
Harvard Univ., USA
Regulation of inflammatory responses by macrophages in the lung

ASPIRE Awards recognize early career research accomplishments and professional promise in the field of immunology. The award lectures will be followed by brief abstract presentations on related topics.

AAI-Thermo Fisher Meritorious Career Award Presentation and Lecture

Generously supported by Thermo Fisher Scientific

Chair
Stephen Jameson, Univ. of Minnesota Med. Sch., USA, AAI Vice President

Award Recipient

Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti
St. Jude Children's Res. Hosp., USA
Molecular mechanisms of innate immunity and cell death in health and disease

This award recognizes a mid-career scientist for exceptional research contributions to the field of immunology.

Dr. Jameson, AAI President Akiko Iwasaki, and Chris Langsdorf, Global Product Manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific, will present the award immediately prior to the lecture.

AAI-Steinman Award for Human Immunology Research Presentation and Lecture

Chair
Mark Davis, HHMI, Stanford Univ. Sch. of Med., USA, AAI Past President

Award Recipient

Jane H. Buckner
Benaroya Res. Inst., USA
Embracing complexity in human immunology: creating tools to dissect the mechanisms underlying autoimmune diseases

Dr. Buckner is honored in recognition of significant contributions to defining and characterizing the genetic basis of human autoimmunity.

Dr. Davis will introduce the awardee and present the award immediately prior to the lecture.

AAI ASPIRE Awards Lecture—Weishan Huang

Chairs
Ross Kedl, Univ. of Colorado Anschutz Med. Campus
Ken Oestreich, Ohio State Univ. Col. of Med.

Award Recipient

Weishan Huang
LSU, USA
ITK signaling in CD8 T cell homeostasis

ASPIRE Awards recognize early career research accomplishments and professional promise in the field of immunology. The award lectures will be followed by brief abstract presentations on related topics.

AAI ASPIRE Awards Lecture—Zhenyu Zhong

Chairs
Naeha Subramanian, Inst. for Sys. Bio., USA
Shanjana Awasthi, Univ. of Oklahoma Hlth. Sci. Ctr., USA

Award Recipient

Zhenyu Zhong
Univ. of Texas Southwestern Med. Ctr., USA
Mitochondrial control of inflammation

ASPIRE Awards recognize early career research accomplishments and professional promise in the field of immunology. The award lectures will be followed by brief abstract presentations on related topics.

AAI Vanguard Award Presentation and Lecture

Sponsored by the AAI Minority Affairs Committee
Generously supported by the Yale Department of Immunobiology

Chair
Luis J. Montaner, Wistar Inst., AAI Minority Affairs Committee Chair

Award Recipient

Tonya J. Webb
Univ. of Maryland Sch. of Med., USA
Modulating NKT cells for cancer immunotherapy

In recognition of research achievement and exemplary career success by an underrepresented investigator

Dr. Montaner and AAI President Akiko Iwasaki will present the award immediately prior to the lecture.

AAI Excellence in Mentoring Award

Chair
Akiko Iwasaki, HHMI, Yale Sch. of Med., USA, AAI President

Award Recipient

Jeffrey A. Frelinger
Univ. of Arizona, USA

Dr. Frelinger is honored in recognition of his dedication to the profession through outstanding mentoring of more than 50 doctoral and postdoctoral trainees.

Dr. Iwasaki, Dr. Gail A. Bishop, Univ. of Iowa, USA, and Dr. Jenny P.-Y. Ting, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA, will introduce the awardee and present the award immediately prior to the President’s Symposium.