2024 ICIS-Luminex John R. Kettman Award for Excellence in Cytokine & Interferon Research Mid-Career
Laura K. Mackay, PhD, Professor, Laboratory Head, Theme Leader in Immunology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne , Australia
Professor Laura Mackay has been selected as the 2024 ICIS-Luminex John R. Kettman Award for Excellence in Cytokine & Interferon Research in recognition for her outstanding work on memory T cell populations and the cytokines that control them. Professor Mackay’s discoveries have resulted in dramatic paradigm shifts and have contributed enormously to the T cell field, spawning a new focus on tissue immunity. Her accomplishments are shaping and redefining how we understand cellular immune responses and have driven a new field of T cell immunology. These accomplishments indeed far exceed her designated “mid-career” stage. More Details
Since 2020, this award generously supported by Luminex Corporation recognizes a mid-career investigator who has made outstanding contributions to the field of interferon or cytokine biology. The awardee will receive a $5,000 cash prize that covers meeting registration, and where applicable travel support to the ICIS annual meeting for presentation of his or her research in an award lecture. The award is named after Dr. John R (Jack) Kettman, an immunologist who was instrumental in the development of Luminex’s technologies and the Luminex Corporation.
A nominee must be an ICIS member in good standing* who is within 15 years from their terminal degree (Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent). A nominee must be an independent research scientist (PI); postdoctoral fellows are not eligible. Eligibility of the nominee will be checked at time of nomination and before presentation of award.
- Letters of nomination should be sent to the ICIS President via the Submission Form. The nomination package should include a full CV of the nominee and a letter of nomination detailing the accomplishments of the nominee and reasons for the nomination. A candidate may be nominated by more than one ICIS member.
It should be noted that the awardees will be judged based on the following criteria which should be included in the nomination letter:
- outstanding publications and ground-breaking discoveries in the field
- collective contributions to the field of cytokine biology
* Member dues paid through the end of 2023.
# This award is intended for a mid-career researcher with a maximum of 15 years post-degree. It is, however, recognized that there may have been family-related, personal, or other circumstances resulting in extended time out of the laboratory. Exceptions to the 15-year limit will be considered based on a description of any special circumstances. Please email with inquiries.
Dr. Kettman received his undergraduate degree in biochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and completed his Ph. D. at Oregon State University under the advisory of TE King. He completed his postdoctoral work in immunochemistry with E. Benjamini and immunobiology with RW Dutton. He was a member of the Basel Institute for Immunology 1972-1973 and spent twenty eight years as on the faculty of the Microbiology Department at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. He currently serves as a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Immunology, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas. Jack was a co-founder of Luminex Corporation and former member of Board of Directors (1995) and a partner and member of board of Directors, Radix BioSolutions, Georgetown TX. He is author or co-author of over one hundred publications in reviewed scientific Journals.
Past Award Winners:
Dusan Bogunovic Awarded the 2023 ICIS-Luminex John R. Kettman Award for Excellence in Cytokine & Interferon Research
Dusan Bogunovic, PhD, Professor, Director – Center for Inborn Errors of Immunity
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA (now Columbia University)
Dusan Bogunovic has been selected as the 2023 ICIS-LUMINEX JOHN R. KETTMAN AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN INTERFERON & CYTOKINE RESEARCH MID-CAREER, in recognition for his seminal discoveries in the field of cytokine biology and his remarkable international reputation as an immunologist and geneticist with a focus on inborn disorders of the immune system, especially concerning the JAK/STAT pathway.
Professor Bogunovic’s lab discovered and characterized several genetic disorders in the JAK/STAT pathway, demonstrated the causal role of these gene defects to human diseases and identified life-saving therapies for patients with these mutations. Some examples include the discovery of ISG15 deficiency, USP18 deficiency, STAT2 gain-of function, and JAK1 gain-of-function human diseases. These novel disorders all have in common hyperactive JAK/STAT pathway which results in severe dysregulation of the immune system and were reported in leading journals including NEJM, Nature and Cell. More Details
Lydia Lynch Awarded the 2022 ICIS-Luminex John R. Kettman Award for Excellence in Cytokine & Interferon Research
The 2022 ICIS-Luminex John R. Kettman Award for Excellence in Cytokine & Interferon Research Mid-career recognizes Lydia Lynch’s outstanding contributions to the field of cytokine biology, innate lymphoid cells, and established leadership in the field of immunometabolism. MORE DETAILS
Marion Pepper Awarded the 2021 ICIS-LUMINEX John R. Kettman Award for Excellence in Interferon & Cytokine Research
The 2021 ICIS-Luminex John R. Kettman Award for Excellence in Interferon & Cytokine Research Mid-career recognizes Marion Pepper, PhD as being in the very top tier of the current wave of mid-career immunologists who continue to make cytokine research exciting. MORE DETAILS
Gregory F. Sonnenberg Awarded the 2020 Inaugural ICIS-LUMINEX John R. Kettman Award for Excellence in Interferon & Cytokine Research
Gregory F. Sonnenberg, PhD
Associate Professor of Microbiology & Immunology in Medicine
Department of Medicine, Gastroenterology Division,
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Jill Robert’s Institute for Research in IBD
Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY USA
The inaugural ICIS-Luminex John R. Kettman Award for Excellence in Interferon & Cytokine Research Mid-career Award has been awarded to Gregory F. Sonnenberg for establishing himself as an extramurally funded and well-respected independent investigator, and his innovative research program which continues to make seminal scientific contributions at the interface of immunology and microbiology.
Gregory Sonnenberg is an Associate Professor of Microbiology & Immunology at Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University. He obtained his Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2011 and was recipient of a NIH Director’s Early Independent Award in 2012, permitting the establishment of the Sonnenberg Laboratory. He was recruited to Weill Cornell Medicine in 2014 and currently holds primary appointments in the Department of Medicine and Division of Gastroenterology, the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, and the Jill Robert’s Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
The focus and long-term research goals of the Sonnenberg Laboratory are to interrogate the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which the mammalian immune system controls tissue homeostasis, immunity, inflammation and cancer. This research thus far has defined numerous novel functions for innate lymphoid cells, populations of dendritic cells and emerging cytokine networks in controlling states of health and disease. Dr. Sonnenberg has published over 50 peer-reviewed primary and review papers and is funded by the NIH and private foundations. He is also been a recipient of the Searle Scholar Award, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award, and the Caner Research Institute Lloyd J. Old STAR Award.
Website of the lab: http://sonnenberglab.weill.cornell.edu