AAI Awards Program

AAI President Mark M. Davis will introduce the awardee and present the award prior to the start of the President's Address.

Chair

• Mark M. Davis, HHMI, Stanford Univ. Sch. of Med., AAI President

Award Recipient

Lewis L. Lanier
Univ. of California, San Francisco

The AAI Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed by the AAI Council upon an AAI member. This award recognizes a deserving member for a career of scientific achievement and for contributions to AAI and fellow immunologists.

AAI President Mark M. Davis will acknowledge the honorees prior to the start of the President's Address.

Chair

• Mark M. Davis, HHMI, Stanford Univ. Sch. of Med., 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.

Meet the Distinguished Fellows of AAI Class of 2023.

AAI President Mark M. Davis will introduce the awardees and present the awards during the AAI Business Meeting.

Chair

•  Loretta L. Doan, AAI Chief Executive Officer

Award Recipients

Cherié L. Butts
Biogen

For outstanding service as chair and member of the AAI Minority Affairs Committee, 2011–2017

Clifford V. Harding
Case Western Reserve Univ.

For outstanding service as chair and member of the AAI Committee on Public Affairs, 2009–2016

The AAI Distinguished Service Awards recognize individuals for outstanding service to AAI and the immunology community.

Generously supported by BioLegend

AAI President Mark M. Davis will introduce the awardee and present the award immediately prior to Dr. Crotty’s lecture.

Chair

• Gary A. Koretzky, Cornell Univ. and Weill Cornell Med., AAI Past President

Award Recipient

Shane Crotty
La Jolla Inst. for Immunology
Long-lived and high-quality antibody and memory B cell responses regulated by Tfh cells and germinal centers

The AAI-BioLegend Herzenberg Award recognizes outstanding research contributions to the field of immunology in the area of B cell biology.

Dr. Garvy will introduce the awardee and present the award immediately prior to Dr. Krishnaswamy’s lecture.

Chair

• Beth A. Garvy, Univ. of Kentucky Col. of Med., FASEB Vice President for Science Policy

Award Recipient

Smita Krishnaswamy
Yale Univ.
Deep geometric and topological analyses characterizing and predicting immune responses

The FASEB Excellence in Science Early-Career Investigator Award recognizes excellence, innovation, leadership, and mentorship of a female early career investigator whose research has contributed significantly to a particular discipline in biological science.

Generously supported by BD Biosciences

AAI President Mark M. Davis and Robert Balderas, Vice President of Bio. Sci., BD Biosciences, will introduce the awardee and present the award immediately prior to Dr. Sonnenberg’s lecture.

Chair

• Akiko Iwasaki, HHMI, Yale Sch. of Med., AAI Vice President

Award Recipient

Gregory F. Sonnenberg
Weill Cornell Med.
Innate regulation of immunity, inflammation, tolerance, and cancer

The AAI-BD Biosciences Investigator Award recognizes an early-career investigator who has made outstanding contributions to the field of immunology.

AAI President Mark M. Davis will introduce the awardees and present the awards immediately prior to the symposium.

Chairs

• Joan Goverman, Univ. of Washington, AAI Secretary-Treasurer
• Akiko Iwasaki, HHMI, Yale Sch. of Med., AAI Vice President

Award Recipients

Todd Bradley
Children's Mercy Kansas City
Natural killer cell immunoregulation of the HIV-1 antibody response

Hitesh Deshmukh
Cincinnati Children's Hosp. Med. Ctr.
Establishing lifelong trajectories of pulmonary health before and after birth

Rebecca Martin
Virginia Commonwealth Univ.
Targeting dendritic cell metabolism promotes allergen tolerance in asthma

Gabrielle Rizzuto
Mem. Sloan Kettering Cancer Ctr.
Glycan-dependent mechanisms of fetomaternal tolerance

Tuoqi Wu
Univ. of Texas Southwestern Med. Ctr.
Transcriptional regulation of long-term T-cell immunity

Melody Yue Zeng
Weill Cornell Med.
Immune regulation by the gut microbiome in early life

The AAI ASPIRE Awards recognize early career research accomplishments and professional promise in the field of immunology.

Dr. Butts will introduce the awardee and present the award immediately prior to Dr. Sharpe’s lecture.

Chair

• Cherié L. Butts, Biogen, FASEB Treasurer

Award Recipient

Arlene H. Sharpe
Harvard Med. Sch.
The biology behind PD-1 blockade

The FASEB Excellence in Science Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes excellence, innovation, leadership, and mentorship of a female established investigator whose research has contributed significantly to a particular discipline in biological science.

Generously supported by Thermo Fisher Scientific

AAI President Mark M. Davis and Rhonda Newman, Thermo Fisher Scientific, will introduce the awardee and present the award immediately prior to Dr. Wu’s lecture.

Chair

• Gary A. Koretzky, Cornell Univ. and Weill Cornell Med., AAI Past President

Award Recipient

Hao Wu
Harvard Med. Sch. and Boston Children's Hosp.
Inner workings on the inflammasome engine

The AAI-Thermo Fisher Meritorious Career Award recognizes a mid-career scientist for outstanding research contributions to the field of immunology.

Sponsored by the AAI Minority Affairs Committee
Generously supported by BD Biosciences

AAI President Mark M. Davis will introduce the awardee and present the award immediately prior to Dr. Binder’s lecture.

Chair

• Tonya J. Webb, Univ. of Maryland Sch. of Med., AAI Minority Affairs Committee Chair

Speaker

Robert J. Binder
Univ. of Pittsburgh
Key pathways in immunosurveillance of cancer

The AAI Vanguard Award recognizes an underrepresented member investigator noted for significant scientific achievement and exemplary career success.

AAI President Mark M. Davis and Shruti Naik, New York Univ. Grossman Sch. of Med., will introduce the awardee and present the award prior to the start of the President’s Symposium.

Chair

• Mark M. Davis, HHMI, Stanford Univ. Sch. of Med., AAI President

Award Recipient

Yasmine Belkaid
NIAID, NIH

The AAI Excellence in Mentoring Award recognizes exemplary career contributions to a future generation of scientists.

AAI President Mark M. Davis will introduce the awardee and present the award immediately prior to Dr. Hafler’s lecture.

Chair

• Mark M. Davis, HHMI, Stanford Univ. Sch. of Med., AAI President

Award Recipient

David A. Hafler
Yale Sch. of Med.
Treg biology: insights into immunology by the study of human disease

The AAI-Steinman Award for Human Immunology Research recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the understanding of immune processes underlying human disease pathogenesis, prevention, or therapy.

This award recognizes the professional promise of an early career investigator (assistant professor or equivalent) by assisting the award recipient with registration for the AAI annual meeting to present their research. This award is supported through an endowment from Henry J. Showell and Pfizer, Inc.

Award Recipient

Carla Nowosad, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
New York Univ.

AAI President Mark M. Davis will acknowledge the awardee during the AAI Business Meeting.

Established to honor the memory of AAI Member Dr. Joseph Lustgarten, this award is intended to advance the career of a mid-career scientist who attends the AAI annual meeting and presents an outstanding abstract specifically in the area of immune regulation. This award is generously supported by Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Award Recipient

Jianmei W. Leavenworth, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham, Heersink Sch. of Med.

AAI President Mark M. Davis will acknowledge the awardee during the AAI Business Meeting.

Established to honor the memory of AAI Member Dr. Leo Lefrançois, this award is intended to advance the career of a trainee who attends the AAI annual meeting and presents an outstanding abstract specifically in the area of mucosal immunology. This award is generously supported by BioLegend and donations from friends and colleagues of Dr. Lefrançois.

Award Recipient

Alexandria Wells, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
NIAID, NIH

AAI President Mark M. Davis will acknowledge the awardee during the AAI Business Meeting.

Established to honor the memory of AAI Member Dr. Cynthia Chambers, this award is intended to advance the career of an early career scientist who attends the AAI annual meeting and presents an outstanding abstract specifically in the area of cancer biology. This award is generously supported by Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Award Recipient

Sepideh Dolatshahi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Univ. of Virginia Sch. of Med

AAI President Mark M. Davis will acknowledge the awardee during the AAI Business Meeting.

This award recognizes up to six promising trainees in the field of immunology. Selection is based on career promise and presentation of an outstanding first-author abstract selected for a Block Symposium. This award is generously supported by Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Award Recipients

Tanushree Dangi, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Northwestern Univ.

Andrew G. Harrison
Graduate Student
UConn Health

Fiona A. Raso
Graduate Student
Univ. of Massachusetts Med. Sch.

Chin Yee Tan
Graduate Student
Duke Univ. Sch. of Med.

Sonya J. Wolf-Fortune, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Univ. of Michigan

Insha Zahoor, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Henry Ford Health

AAI President Mark M. Davis will acknowledge the awardees during the AAI Business Meeting.