The Cytokine Society is proud to present the Joan Oefner Travel Award, a prestigious recognition established to honor the Society’s long-time Managing Director who retired in 2024. This named award celebrates Joan’s extraordinary dedication to the Society and her commitment to supporting the next generation of cytokine researchers. The award is presented annually to a student or postdoctoral researcher whose abstract demonstrates exceptional scientific merit.
The Joan Oefner Travel Award recipient is selected from among the highest-scoring abstracts submitted by student and postdoctoral members to the annual Cytokines conference. This merit-based award provides financial support to help offset travel expenses to attend the conference, while also carrying the distinction of a named honor recognizing outstanding research contributions to the field of cytokine biology.
Eligibility
The Joan Oefner Travel Award is open to current student and postdoctoral members of The Cytokine Society from any country or institution. Candidates must submit an abstract to the annual Cytokines conference and indicate their interest in being considered for travel awards during the abstract submission process.
Selection Process
The award recipient is selected by the conference’s abstract review committee based on scientific merit as determined by abstract scores. One applicant with one of the highest-scoring abstracts will be chosen to receive this named award.
Application
No separate application is required. Student and postdoctoral members who wish to be considered for the Joan Oefner Travel Award and other travel grants should submit their abstract through the annual conference submission system and indicate their interest in being considered for travel support on the submission form.
Supporting Future Leaders: Donate to the Cytokine Society Travel Grant Fund
We invite members and supporters to contribute to the Travel Awards Fund
to help sustain this award and support emerging scientists in our field.
To contribute by check, please make payable to The International Cytokine & Interferon Society* and send to: 4083 24th St., Unit 460718, San Francisco, CA 94146-8811. To make a contribution by credit card, please email Stephanie Flores for a secure link. Contributions may be tax deductible—please consult your tax advisor for details.
*The name has not yet been changed on the bank account.
Past Recipients
2025 – Zhengyu (Jeff) Ge, PhD candidate, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Australia
