Nominations for the 2025 ICIS Awards are now open!
- Nominations 2026 Senior Career Awards are now closed.
- Friday, April 30 is the deadline for Young Investigator awards.
- May 15 is the last day to apply for Cytokines Annual Meeting Awards for student sand post docs. Apply by selecting the travel award option when submitting abstracts.
Nominations for all mid- and senior achievement awards, service and mentorship awards are made using the same form. Nominees may be nominated for multiple awards using a separate form for each nomination. Specific requirements about what must be submitted can be found using the links above.
Scroll down for the criteria and additional information about each award.
Nominations for the mid- and senior career awards must include:
- A nomination letter (maximum 2 pages) that addresses the following key evaluation questions.
- What are the significant research contributions that make the nominee an ideal candidate for this award from the Cytokine Society? Be sure to address the specific criteria for the Honorary Membership, Howard A. Young Distinguished Service, and the Mentorship Awards.
- What is the quality, rigor, reproducibility, and innovative nature of this candidate’s research contributions?
- How do these accomplishments stand out from other individuals at this career stage?
- Are there any specific circumstances about this candidate’s background or track record that the awards committee should take into consideration?
- Has the nominee made non-scientific contributions that merit mention?
- A biosketch or CV of the nominee. The committee recommends this focus on career highlights, for example highlight top 10 publications on the first page and, ideally, not exceed 3 pages in length.
Additional Guidance:
- The most successful applications are thoughtful, not overly dense, effective at highlighting accomplishments, and targeted to the specific award.
- Each nomination must specify which award the candidate is being nominated for. You may nominate someone for an additional award by using another form (submission).
- Minimum font size should be 11 points.
- Candidates may be nominated by more than one Society member.
Pfizer Award for Excellence in Interferon and Cytokine Research
The Cytokine Society – Pfizer Award for Excellence in Cytokine & Interferon Research, represents the pinnacle of scientific achievement in cytokine & interferon research. This Award is bestowed upon a leading biomedical research scientist, who may not be an ICIS member, who has made outstanding contributions to cytokine & interferon research, either in a basic or applied field. Many laureates have made seminal advancements that have enabled the successful treatment of disease or have the potential to lead to significant health benefits. The award consists of $10,000 (may be split if there are more than one award winner), a crystal trophy, and an invitation to make an oral presentation during the Opening Ceremony of the Annual Cytokines Conference in the year in which the award is received. The usual invited speaker travel reimbursement and complimentary registration is also included.
The awardee is selected by the Awards Committee based on nominations received from Society Members. 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.
BIOLEGEND William E. Paul Award for Excellence in Cytokine Research
Dr. Hongbo Chi, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, was selected as the 2025 BioLegend William E. Paul Award for Excellence in Cytokine Research winner in recognition of his studies establishing mechanisms and functional outcomes of immunometabolism.
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.
This award was established in 2016 and is given to an investigator who has made significant contributions to cytokine and interferon research throughout their career. Through the generosity of BioLegend, the award consists of $5,000 cash prize and an invitation to make an oral presentation during the Opening Ceremony at the Annual Cytokines in the year the award is given. The award also includes a crystal trophy engraved with the 3 D structure of IL-4, the cytokine most associated with Dr. Paul’s research.
The awardee is selected by the ICIS Awards Committee based on nominations received from ICIS Members. 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.
ICIS Mentorship Award
- Intellectual growth and development
- Career development
- Professional guidance
- Advocacy
- Positive role modeling
- Intellectual growth and development
- To be eligible, the person needs a minimum of three mentees who are willing to write a supporting letter (one page, single spaced) on how this person has impacted their development, career and lives.
- Both the nominee and the corresponding nominator must be ICIS members (not a member, join today)
Nominees may include academic, government or industry members
Nominees should have a sustained record of mentoring over time
Self-nominations and posthumous nominations will not be accepted.
Candidates that were nominated in the preceding year but did not win the award are automatically reconsidered as eligible in the ensuing year.
The nomination must be made by a Regular, Industry or Student/Postdoc Member of the Society and include a minimum of two additional letters of nomination. The winner of this award will be announced at the annual meeting.
- To be eligible, the person needs a minimum of three mentees who are willing to write a supporting letter (one page, single spaced) on how this person has impacted their development, career and lives.
The Awardee will receive an ICIS Crystal and travel costs to attend the Society’s Annual Meeting up to $1500, and complimentary meeting registration for the year of the award. Mentees are invited to present the Award to their Mentor at the Annual Awards Ceremony.
ICIS Honorary Lifetime Membership Award
Nominations are solicited for Honorary Life Memberships in the ICIS. Each year an individual will be awarded Life Membership as a tribute to his/her contributions to the field. Nominees should be individuals who have made substantive contributions to the cytokine/chemokine/interferon field over much of their careers, either in basic, clinical or applied research. Honorary members are esteemed members of the Society and provide us with an historical perspective and valued research tradition. Honorary Life Members are accorded all rights and privileges of active members, are exempted from Society dues and are listed in the dedicated Honorary Life Members section of the Society web site. The winner(s) is elected by vote of the ICIS Council and The Awardee will receive an ICIS Crystal and travel costs to attend the Society’s Annual Meeting up to $1500, and complimentary meeting registration for the year of the award.
ICIS Howard A. Young Distinguished Service Award
The ICIS will on occasion bestow this honor on an ICIS member who has made an extraordinary contribution to the Society. The individual will have devoted significant time and energy over a period of years to elevating the goals of the Society in furthering research on interferon, cytokines and chemokines. Nominations should be communicated to the Awards Committee of the ICIS. The Awardee will receive an ICIS Crystal and travel costs to attend the Society’s Annual Meeting up to $1500, and complimentary meeting registration for the year of the award.
ICIS-LUMINEX John R. Kettman Award for Excellence in Interferon & Cytokine Research
DISCONTINUED.
This award was supported from 2020-2024 by Luminex Corporation, to recognize a mid-career investigator who has made outstanding contributions to the field of interferon or cytokine biology. Awardees received a $5,000 cash prize, an invitation to make an oral presentation at the annual Cytokines meeting, and a crystal award.
The award was named after Dr. John R (Jack) Kettman, an immunologist who was instrumental in the development of Luminex’s technologies and the Luminex Corporation.
