Neurospora Society Awards

1. METZENBERG AWARD

This award was established in 2004 by the Neurospora community to recognize the contributions of Dr. Robert Metzenberg to science, and to promote the work of others in the spirit of Metzenberg.

a. Criteria:  The award will be given to a Neurospora worker, at any stage of career development, whose innovative achievements/contributions have significantly advanced our understanding of biology (Neurospora and beyond). The critical work would preferably, but not necessarily, have been done within the previous four years.

b. Venue of award: The award is given to one researcher every two to four years at the International Fungal Genetics Meeting. 

c. Nature of prize: Memorabilium plus up to $1000 towards travel/meeting expenses if required. The awardee will be invited to give a special lecture at the following Neurospora meeting.

d. Nominations: For the first year, nominations will come from the NPC. Subsequently, nominations will be solicited from the community. Candidates will require one nomination letter and a CV. These will be sent to the chair of the NPC and appropriate candidate applications will be forwarded to the selection committee. All materials will need to be submitted to the NPC by Dec 1.

d. Selection committee: Eight prominent scientists, including an equal number of Neurospora and non-Neurospora researchers. One Neurospora member will include the chair of the NPC. Selection committee members will be chosen every 4 years by the NPC. One goal is to have several members serve for at least two consecutive terms. Nominations will be given to the selection committee by the NPC by Jan 1. A decision will be required by Feb 1 for announcement in the FG program.

e. Frequency: The Award will be made every 2-4 year at the discretion of the NPC

f.  Past recipients: 2005: Jay Dunlap 2009: Hirokazu Inoue 2018: Louise Glass

2. BEADLE AND TATUM AWARD

This award was established in 2002 by the community of Neurospora scientists in recognition of outstanding and original research using Neurospora as a model organism.

a. Criteria:  This award is intended for young investigators whereby the award will help to advance their careers and to give more visibility to Neurospora as a research organism.

b. Venue of the award: The award is given to one researcher every two years at the Neurospora conference in Asilomar. The recipient is asked to give the Beadle and Tatum award lecture at the meeting.

c. Nature of the prize: Reproductions of four original drawings prepared by George Beadle are given to the recipient. The originals are kept at FGSC.

d. NominationsNominations are solicited from the Neurospora community using the Fungal Genetics Stock Center mailing list. Nominations are collected by the NPC every two years. Nominations should include a letter of support for the candidate. The nomination materials should be sent to the NPC chair or designated surrogate(s) before the nomination deadline (four months before the start of the Neurospora conference). The NPC will review the nominations and forward these to the Selection Committee.

e. Selection CommitteeA group of up to 8 distinguished scientists will be selected by the NPC to review the nominations and select the recipient of the award. The awardee will be notified prior to the meeting.

f.  Past recipients:

2021: Jennifer Hurley

2018: Zach Lewis
2016: Hanna Johannesson
2014: Michael Freitag
2012: Greg Jedd
2010: Stephan Seiler
2008: Patrick Shiu
2006: Carlo Cogoni
2004: Yi Liu
2002: Mike Plamann

3.THE B. O. DODGE COMMUNITY AWARDS

These awards are made in recognition of the fact that a significant part of the success of Neurospora as a model research organism is due to the collaborative nature of its research community.

a. Criteria. Certain individuals who have made exceptional contributions towards community will be acknowledged by the awards.

b. Venue: At each Neurospora meeting, up to two awards will be made to individuals of any rank who have made sustained exceptional contributions to the community.

c. Nature of the Award: Recipients will be presented with an appropriate trophy or award plaque.

d. Nominations: Nominations are solicited from the Neurospora community using the Fungal Genetics Stock Center mailing list. Nominations for the B.O. Dodge Award should be made in the form of a short description of the nominee’s contributions to the community. The nomination letter should be sent to the NPC chair or designated surrogate(s) before the nomination deadline (four months before the start of the Neurospora conference).�

Selection: Up to two awardees will be selected by the Neurospora Policy Committee.

f. Past Recipients2006: Gloria Turner and Dick Weiss 2008: Rowland Davis and Nambori Raju 2010: Mary Case, Katherine Borkovich, and Kevin McCluskey 2018: The CICESE team: Salomon Bartnicki Garcia, Meritxell Riquelme Pérez, Rosa Mouriño Pérez, Ernestina Castro Longoria 2022: Barry Bowman

 

4. PERKINS FUND AWARD

a. Criteria: This award was established in honor of our colleague, Dr. David Perkins, to support outstanding students and postdocs attending the Neurospora and Fungal Genetics Conferences.

b. Venue of the award: The award will be presented at either the Fungal Genetics Conference or the Neurospora Conference, preferably at the Neurospora conference banquet or at the Neurospora business lunch at the Fungal Genetics Conference. Each awardee will be asked to present their research findings at the meeting.

c. Nature of the prize: Awards of up to $600 to one graduate student and one postdoctoral scientist each year.

d. NominationsNominations are solicited from the Neurospora community using the Fungal Genetics Stock Center mailing list. Nominations for Perkins Fund Awardees should be made in the form of a one-page letter from the candidate’s research advisor. This letter should include a 200 word or less description of why the individual’s work is exceptional. Up to two re-prints or pre-prints of published research may also be included with the nomination. The nomination materials should be sent to the NPC chair or designated surrogate(s) before the nomination deadline (four months before the start of the Neurospora conference). The NPC will review the nominations and forward these to the Selection Committee.

e. Selection CommitteeEvaluation of the nominations are overseen by the Neurospora Policy Committee. The awardees will be notified at least three months prior to the Neurospora meeting.

f. Contributions to the Perkins fund may be made via the Genetics Society of America  or via the FGSC e-commerce page (Please use “Perkins Award” as the invoice number).

gHistory of Neurospora Awards from the David D. Perkins Scholarship Fund.

2017

 

2018

Dev Ashish Giri
Zhipeng Zhou

 

 2016
Brad Bartholomai

 2015
Jennifer Hurley

2014
Jonathan Galazka 

Andrew Klocko

 2013
Eddy Sánchez-León

 2012
Chris Ellison

Charles Hall

2011
Abby Leeder
Alexander Lichius

2010
Shinji Honda
Renato DePaula

2009
Bill Alexander
Keyur Adhvaryu
Kristina Smith

2008
Heng-Chi Lee
Carol Jones

2007
Carmit Ziv

2006
Fernanda Freitas
Elizabeth Turner

2005
Michael Vitalini
Hyojeong Kim

2004
Carolyn Rasmussen

2003
Jeremy Dettman  

2002
Qijun Xiang
Rashmi Krishnapuram

2001
Stephen Seiler
Alka Pandit 
Ann Kays
Jennifer Bieszke

1999
Frederick Bowring
Patrick Shiu
Jennifer Wu

1997
Carlo Cogoni
Stacie Schwartz
Kelly Howe