2024 ICIS-BioLegend William E. Paul Award Winner

Stefan Rose-John is recognized as the 2024 ICIS-BioLegend William E. Paul Award

Stefan Rose-John, PhD, Univ. Prof. Dr. Stefan Rose-John (emeritus), Christian Albrecht University Kiel Institute of Biochemistry Kiel, Germany   

Professor Stefan Rose-John is recognized as the 2024 ICIS-BioLegend William E. Paul Award winner in recognition for his seminal contributions to the field of cytokine biology. With a primary focus on the IL-6 cytokine family, his fundamental research has pioneered several paradigm-shifting discoveries, which have steered understanding of IL-6 in physiology and pathophysiology. Moreover, these insights have informed refinements affecting how target IL-6 for therapy. By presenting this Award, which is generously sponsored by BioLegend, the ICIS recognizes Professor Rose-John as one of a rare breed of scientists who has excelled in discovery science, achieved success as an entrepreneur, and translated his basic scientific discoveries into treatments that directly ameliorate patients’ lives.  READ MORE

Wiliam E. Paul, MD, (1936–2015)

The ICIS-BioLegend William E. Paul Award for Excellence in Cytokine Research is dedicated to William E. Paul, M.D., who died on September 18, 2015 at age 79. Dr. Paul’s extraordinary contributions to the field of cytokine research are best summarized by this paper published in the Journal of Immunology on December 15, 2015.

The ICIS-BioLegend William E. Paul Award is bestowed upon a leading biomedical research scientist who has made outstanding contributions to cytokine research, either in a basic or applied field as demonstrated by publications, oral presentations and consistent scientific advancements in cytokine biology throughout their career, through the generosity of BioLegend. The awardee is selected by the ICIS Awards Committee based on nominations received from the international scientific community. The selection is based on strength and consistency throughout their career of cytokine research publications in peer reviewed journals, contributions to cytokine biology through the publication of reviews and book chapters, long term evidence of presenting their work on cytokine biology to the international community in oral presentations and leadership in the field as demonstrated by organization of cytokine biology meetings and chairing of sessions focused on cytokine biology at national/international meetings.

This award was established in 2016 and renewed in perpetuity in 2022 through the generosity of BioLegend.

The award consists of $5,000 and a crystal block with the 3 D structure of IL-4, the cytokine most associated with Dr. Paul’s research, which includes travel expenses to attend and present at the Annual Meeting.

Past Award Winners:

2023 ICIS-BioLegend William E. Paul Award Winners

Daniel J. Cua, PhD, Vice President, Immunology, Distinguished Fellow, at the Janssen Research & Development, LLC, US

Daniel Cua has been selected as the recipient of the 2023 ICIS-BioLegend William E. Paul Award in recognition for his profound and sustained impact on the field of cytokine biology.

Dr. Cua does not have the typical career path of the majority of ICIS award recipients, but rather his seminal studies that defined the Th17 subset and the cytokines that control this pathway were performed while he was a research fellow at DNAX in Palo Alto shortly after getting his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from

Dr. Cua’s generosity with ideas and reagents and support of the field have been a major factor in allowing the field to advance. From his critically important seminal studies that defined the Th17 subset and the cytokines that control this pathway to his impactful work on Treg cells, his body of work has been foundational for the development of new strategies to treat multiple human disorders that are mediated by the IL-23/Th17 axis.

While the impact of Dr. Cua’s work on basic immunology would be sufficient to warrant his selection for this prestigious award – it is critical to acknowledge that this body of work was foundational for the development of new strategies to treat multiple human disorders that are mediated by the IL-23/Th17 axis. READ MORE

2022 ICIS-BioLegend William E. Paul Award Winners

David Artis and Wanjun Chen are jointly recognized for the 2022 ICIS-BioLegend William E. Paul Award for their combined contributions to unraveling the exciting and important biology of cytokines

David Artis and Wanjun Chen are jointly recognized for the 2022 ICIS-BioLegend William E. Paul Award for their combined contributions to unraveling the exciting and important biology of cytokines. David Artis’ work has pushed the boundaries of conventional approaches to immune defenses, and elucidated the important role of cytokines in host defenses at the barrier surfaces of the gut, skin, and lungs. Wanjun Chen’s work has significantly advanced our understanding of pathogenesis and has led to the development of immunotherapies for autoimmunity, cancer, and infectious diseases. MORE DETAILS

2021 ICIS-BioLegend William E. Paul Award Winner

K. Christopher Garcia, PhD, Younger Family Professor of Structural Biology, Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and Structural Biology, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, USA

K. Christopher Garcia has been chosen as the 2021 ICIS-BioLegend William E. Paul Award winner in recognition of his enormous contributions to understanding receptor-ligand interactions which is unparalleled in the area of cytokine and interferon research. This award is bestowed on Dr. Garcia for his unwavering commitment to visualizing the fascinating architectures of cytokine-receptor interaction, his pivotal role in all the major advances in understanding the structural basis for how cytokine receptors engage and signal in response to cytokine binding, and for his innovative use of protein engineering to translate this information into the development of new therapeutic strategies and molecules. His application of traditional principles of pharmacology used in small molecule drug discovery to cytokine systems has initiated a new field of cytokine pharmacology. MORE DETAILS

2020 ICIS-BioLegend William E. Paul Award Winners

Sarah L. Gaffen, 2020 BioLegend Award Winner
Vijay K. Kuchroo, 2020 ICIS BioLegend William E. Paul Awardee

ICIS-BioLegend William E. Paul Award Laureates from 2016 to 2019:

Richard Locksley, 2016 ICIS BioLegend William E. Paul Awardee
Alan Sher, 2017 ICIS BioLegend William E. Paul Awardee
Giorgio Trinchieri, 2018 ICIS BioLegend William E. Paul Awardee
Chen Dong, 2019 ICIS BioLegend William E. Paul Awardee
Session Chairs Weiping Jiang (L) and John O’Shea (R), awarding the 1st ICIS-BIOLEGEND BILL PAUL AWARD to Richard Locksley, UCSF, after his lecture, “New pathways in type 2 immunity” on Tuesday, 18 October, 2016.
From Left: Michelle Tate, Award winner, Alan Sher & Weiping Jiang from BioLegend. Awards Presentation at Cytokines 2017 in Kanazawa, Japan.
Dr. Trinchieri (middle) receives the 2018 BioLegend William E. Paul Award Crystal from ICIS Awards Committee Co-chairs Bryan Williams and Kate Fitzgerald. Cytokines 2018 Awards Presentation.
From Left: Bryan Williams, 2019 ICIS William E. Paul BioLegend Award winner, Chen Dong, Jie Zhou from BioLegend & Kate Fitzgerald. Awards Presentation at Cytokines 2019 in Vienna, Austria.