The Cytokine Society is honored to announce that Nancy C. Reich Marshall, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Stony Brook University, is the recipient of the 2026 Honorary Lifetime Membership Award. This recognition reflects the extraordinary depth and breadth of her scientific contributions and her decades of transformative service to the Cytokine Society community.
The award will be presented at the Opening Session of Cytokines 2026 on Sunday, October 18th, at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow.
Defining the Architecture of Innate Immune Signaling
Dr. Reich Marshall’s scientific path began as a doctoral student in the laboratory of Dr. Arnold J. Levine, during a formative period in cancer biology. She later joined the laboratory of Dr. James E. Darnell, Jr., where she contributed to early discoveries defining interferon-stimulated gene regulation — including studies of DNA-binding factors subsequently identified as components of the ISGF3 complex, encompassing STAT1, STAT2, and IRF-9.
Over more than three decades at Stony Brook University, her laboratory has made foundational contributions to the interferon and cytokine fields. Notably, Dr. Reich Marshall’s group discovered IRF-3 as a novel DNA-binding factor activated in response to viral infection and double-stranded RNA, helping establish IRF-3 as a key mediator of antiviral gene expression and innate interferon induction. Her laboratory also demonstrated the requirement of tyrosine phosphorylation for activation of cytokine-stimulated STAT factors, and elucidated the mechanisms governing STAT nuclear trafficking — both dependent on and independent of phosphorylation — work that has profoundly shaped the conceptual framework of STAT signaling in immunity and disease.
More recently, her research has extended these principles into cancer biology. Her group demonstrated that STAT3 sustains tumorigenicity in pancreatic cancer cells following depletion of the initiating KRAS oncogenic driver, identifying a potential therapeutic vulnerability with significant clinical implications.
A Legacy of Leadership and Service
Dr. Reich Marshall’s contributions to the Cytokine Society have been equally distinguished. She served as ICIS President from 2017 to 2019, and in 2016 she chaired the ICIS Reorganizing Committee, guiding the Society through the complex structural transition that followed the merger of ICS and ISICR. She has served on the International Council, Board of Directors, Meetings Committee, Nominations Committee, and Awards Committee.
She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, and received the 2005 ICIS Milstein Award for Outstanding Interferon & Cytokine Research. Her work has been continuously supported by the National Institutes of Health, and she has contributed broadly to the scientific community through service on NIH study sections, editorial roles, and the mentorship of trainees and early-career investigators.
“I am honored to receive the 2026 Honorary Lifetime Membership Award from the Cytokine Society and deeply grateful to the Society for fostering a community where rigorous science, generous mentorship and collaboration, and enduring friendships can thrive.” — Nancy C. Reich Marshall, Ph.D.
