The American Society for Clinical Investigation Award Programs

Supporting and Encouraging Excellence at All Stages of the Physician-Scientist Career Path

Graphic depicting the various ASCI award opportunities available along the physician-scientist career timeline.

The ASCI Emerging Generation Awards recognize post-MD, pre-faculty appointment physician-scientists who are meaningfully engaged in immersive research, giving them access to the Joint Meeting and longitudinal programming over a 2-year period. Entry into the ASCI network at this stage is intended to provide peer support and inspiration to stay the course into a physician-scientist faculty appointment.

The ASCI Council Young Physician-Scientist Awards recognize physician-scientists who are early in their first faculty appointment and have made notable achievements in their research. With these awards, the ASCI seeks to encourage and inspire these physician-scientists through their participation in the Joint Meeting.

The Donald Seldin~Holly Smith Award for Pioneering Research, initiated by the ASCI Council in 2014, connects the next generation of physician-scientist leaders with the legacies of two esteemed ASCI members, Drs. Donald W. Seldin and Lloyd H. “Holly” Smith Jr., whom we celebrate for both their scientific contributions and their dedicated mentorship of countless physician-scientists. The annual award, accompanied by an unrestricted $30,000 grant to advance academic efforts, honors an early-career physician-scientist who has demonstrated exceptional creativity and accomplishments in biomedical research. In addition, the recipient delivers a research talk at the Joint Meeting and receives mentoring from the members of the Award Selection and Advisory Committees.

The Marian W. Ropes, MD, Award recognizes the significant scholarly achievements of a middle-career woman physician-scientist. The award honors Dr. Marian Ropes (1903–1994), a pioneer both as a researcher on the role of synovial fluid in joint diseases and as a woman in academic medicine, who was the first woman documented as an elected member of the ASCI. The recipient of the annual award receives a $10,000 honorarium and presents the Ropes Lecture at the Society’s annual meeting.

The Louis W. Sullivan, MD, Award recognizes the significant scholarly achievements of a middle-career physician-scientist who is underrepresented in medicine and science. The award honors Dr. Louis Sullivan (born 1933), a hematologist, health care advocate, and policy leader — having served as US Secretary of Health and Human Services — who was the first Black physician-scientist elected to the ASCI. The recipient of the annual award receives a $10,000 honorarium and presents the Sullivan Lecture at the Society’s annual meeting.

The ASCI/Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine is a collaboration between the ASCI and the Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals Case Medical Center. The Prize, established with its first recipient in 2014, honors a physician-scientist who has moved science forward with achievements notable for innovation, creativity, and potential for clinical application. The Prize carries a $20,000 honorarium, a lectureship at the ASCI’s annual meeting, and publication of a personal essay in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award recognizes the outstanding achievements of ASCI members in advancing knowledge in a specific field and in mentoring future generations of life science researchers. The recognition, which was first known as the ASCI Award, was renamed in 2006 in honor of Dr. Stanley J. Korsmeyer, a dedicated and accomplished physician-scientist and mentor who was the first recipient in 1998 and who passed away in 2005. The recipient of the annual Award is provided with a $20,000 honorarium and presents the Korsmeyer Lecture at the Society’s annual meeting.