Month: October 2026

Recipient of the 2026 Seldin~Smith Award for Pioneering Research:
Christina Theodoris, MD, PhD

Posted on by John Hawley
Dr. Theodoris

The American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) is pleased to recognize Christina Theodoris, MD, PhD, as the recipient of the 2026 Donald Seldin~Holly Smith Award for Pioneering Research. For this Award, the ASCI provides Dr. Theodoris an honorarium of $30,000 to advance her academic efforts and she delivers a scientific talk at the 2027 AAP/ASCI/APSA Joint Meeting.

The Award recognizes Dr. Theodoris’ work in computational biology to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to understand cell regulation and cell-cell interactions and to produce models that reason about disease states. As a postdoctoral researcher, she developed an AI model called Geneformer that now includes data on more than 100 million human single-cell transcriptomes. Currently, she is using this approach in AI models, notably with the release in 2026 of the model MaxToki, to examine more deeply how cell states change over time and how regulatory information is conveyed between cells.

Dr. Deepak Srivastava nominated Dr. Theodoris for the Award. For the nomination, Dr. Srivastava wrote, “Having known both Drs. Smith and Seldin, I am certain Dr. Theodoris represents the quality and character that these pioneers would be proud of.”

Dr. Theodoris earned her BS from the California Institute of Technology and her MD and PhD from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She completed a combined pediatrics/medical genetics residency from Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and she completed postdoctoral work in computational biology from The Broad Institute and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She is currently Assistant Investigator at Gladstone Institutes and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at UCSF.

Her work has been recognized by a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists (2022), a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Early Independence Award (2023), the Searle Scholars Award (2024), and designation as a Scientific American Young American Scientist (2026), among others.

Nominations were evaluated by the Seldin~Smith Award Selection Committee: Drs. Julie Bastarache (Chair), Stephen Chan, and Rajan Jain. Finalists were evaluated by an Advisory Committee comprising five physician-scientist luminaries: Drs. Joseph L. Goldstein (Chair), Michael S. Brown, Robert J. Lefkowitz, Christine Seidman, and Arthur Weiss.

ASCI Scientific Session: Katherine A. High, MD – October 23, 2026, 1-2pm E

Posted on by Colleen McGarry
Portrait of Dr. Katherine A. High
Katherine A. High, MD

October 23, 1-2 pm Eastern

Katherine A. High, MD, CEO of RhyGaze and Visiting Professor at Rockefeller University, will present:

Realizing the Promise of Gene Therapy:
Current Challenges and Future Opportunities

Register here

This event will be moderated by David Ginsburg, MD, James V. Neel Distinguished University Professor and Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor, Departments of Internal Medicine, Human Genetics and Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Ginsburg served as ASCI President, 2001-2002. He was elected to the ASCI in 1989.

Thank you for your participation!

Click here for more information and to view past ASCI Scientific Sessions.

Nominations open for mid-career member awards, 2027

Posted on by John Hawley

The ASCI is pleased to call for nominations for awards recognizing the scholarly achievements of mid-career members:

The Marian W. Ropes, MD, Award recognizes a middle-career woman physician-scientist. The annual award honors Dr. 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. She was the first woman documented to have been elected to the ASCI. The recipient of this award will receive a $10,000 honorarium, be recognized at the ASCI’s 2027 annual meeting, and give the Ropes Lecture as part of the 2027-2028 ASCI Scientific Sessions.

The Louis W. Sullivan, MD, Award recognizes a middle-career physician-scientist from a population underrepresented in medicine and science. The award honors Dr. Sullivan (born 1933), a hematologist, health care advocate, and policy leader — having served as US Secretary of Health and Human Services — and who was the first Black physician-scientist elected to the ASCI. The recipient of this award will receive a $10,000 honorarium, be recognized at the ASCI’s 2027 annual meeting, and give the Sullivan Lecture as part of the 2027-2028 ASCI Scientific Sessions.

ASCI members who were elected in 2022 or more recently may be nominated. Additionally:

  • For the Ropes Award, only female members are eligible for nomination.
  • For the Sullivan Award, only UiMS members are eligible for nomination.

The deadline for receipt of nominations is December 1, 2026, at 11:59 pm Eastern. Nominations will be screened to ensure they are complete and fit the award criteria. The ASCI’s Physician-Scientist Engagement Committee reviews nominations and submits recommendations to the ASCI Council for approval. We expect to notify nominees about the outcome in January 2027.

Nominators:

  • must be ASCI members; current members of the ASCI Physician-Scientist Engagement Committee are excluded; and
  • must provide a statement regarding the nominee (500-word limit).

Nominees:

  • must fit the criteria noted above and may not be current members of the ASCI Council and/or Physician-Scientist Engagement Committee;
  • may be nominated for only one ASCI award (for example, a nominee for the Ropes Award may not be nominated for the Sullivan Award, Korsmeyer Award, Harrington Prize, or Scharschmidt~Crawford Award);
  • must provide the following:
    • a personal statement (750-word limit) on their scientific achievements, with attention to relevant personal and career history, mentoring experience, and service to the community;
    • a full curriculum vitae; and
    • 3 most-significant publications, each with a 50-word annotation, followed by the member’s role in the publication, the journal name and publication year, and the Pubmed ID noted as “PMID:12345”;
  • must complete the ASCI’s demographics survey; and
  • must provide information regarding their research domain(s).

To start a nomination:

  • Access your member account
  • Go to the “Nominations” tab
  • In the section for the award of interest:
    • If you are the nominee, select the “I’m the nominee” option to start your part of the nomination (only you have access to this information); note that in the case of the Ropes Award, this option will not be available for male members.
    • If you are the nominator, select “I’m the nominator” option, then search for your nominee. Only nominees who were elected starting 2022 will appear in the results. Note: for the Ropes Award, you will only be able to select a nominee who is a woman; for the Sullivan Award, you may select anyone who is within the election-year window, but nominations will be screened (based on the information the nominee provides in the demographics survey) to ensure they fit the UiMS criterion.

Definition of UiMS

The ASCI defines underrepresented in medicine in science (UiMS) as follows: Populations that are underrepresented relative to their numbers in the general US population. This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, physician-scientists who identify in the following racial and/or ethnic groups: Black/African American, Hispanic or Latin American, Native American/American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander; individuals with disabilities: physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; and those with an educationally or financially disadvantaged background.

Nominations open for the 2027 ASCI / Scharschmidt~Crawford Distinguished Lectureship and Award

Posted on by John Hawley

Nominations for the ASCI’s 2027 Bruce F. Scharschmidt & Peggy S. Crawford Translational Medicine Distinguished Lectureship and Award are now open.

The Award recognizes those who have made important contributions to the development of high-impact diagnostics or therapeutics for patients. The Awardee delivers the Scharschmidt~Crawford Distinguished Lectureship at the annual AAP/ASCI/APSA Joint Meeting and receives an unrestricted $20,000 honorarium. Drs. Scharschmidt and Crawford have provided a very generous philanthropic gift to the ASCI to fully endow the Award.

Any person with an MD or equivalent, regardless of ASCI membership, is eligible for nomination. However, current ASCI Council members may not be nominated.

The deadline for receipt of nominations is November 4, 2026, at 11:59 pm Eastern. Nominations will be screened to ensure they are complete and fit the nomination criteria. The Council reviews nominations, with the outcome of review expected in December 2026.

Nominators:

  • may be any ASCI member in good standing, including members of the Council, and
  • must provide a statement (250-word limit) regarding the nominee.

Nominees:

  • may be any person with an MD or equivalent, regardless of ASCI membership, but excluding members of the Council;
  • must be able to attend the 2027 Joint Meeting, April 9-11, in Chicago;
  • must provide a 500-word-limit description of their contributions to the development of high-impact diagnostics or therapeutics for patients;
  • must provide a full curriculum vitae;
  • must complete the ASCI’s demographic survey; and
  • must provide information regarding their research domain(s).

To start a nomination:

Nominations may be started by the nominator or the nominee:

  • Access your member account
  • Go to the “Activities / nominations” tab
  • Go to the section for “ASCI / Scharschmidt~Crawford Distinguished Lectureship and Award”

For the nominator:

  • Select “I’m the nominator” option
  • Search for your nominee
  • Click on “Start nomination”
  • If the nominee has not already claimed her/his part of the nomination, click on “Send nominee information to access the nominee’s part of the nomination” to send the nominee an email to access and edit her/his aspect of the nomination (see above).
  • Supply the required information (see above)
  • Submit this aspect of the nomination

For the nominee:

… if the nominee is an ASCI member:

  • Select “I’m the nominee” option
  • Supply the required information (see above)
  • Submit this aspect of the nomination

… if the nominee is not ASCI member, the nominee can email staff@the-asci.org to have a nomination set up by staff.

Nominations open for the 2027 ASCI / Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award

Posted on by Lizzy Easter

Nominations for the ASCI’s 2027 ASCI / Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award are now open.

This prestigious recognition, first called the ASCI Award, was renamed in 2006 in honor of Dr. Korsmeyer, the first recipient of the Award in 1998, who passed away in 2005. The Award recognizes individuals for their advancement of knowledge in a specific field and for mentoring future generations of life science researchers. Information on all past honorees is available here.

The Awardee delivers the Korsmeyer Award Lecture at the 2027 AAP/ASCI/APSA Joint Meeting, April 9-11, and receives an unrestricted $20,000 honorarium.

Current Active and International ASCI members are eligible for nomination. Prior nominees who remain eligible may be re-nominated. However, current ASCI Council members and prior Award recipients may not be nominated.

The deadline for receipt of nominations is November 4, 2026, at 11:59 pm Eastern. Nominations will be screened to ensure they are complete and fit the nomination criteria. The Council reviews nominations, with the outcome of review expected in December 2026.

Nominators:

  • may be any ASCI member in good standing, including members of the Council;
  • must provide a statement (250-word limit) regarding the nominee; and
  • must comment regarding other investigators who have significantly contributed to the discoveries related to the nomination.

Nominees:

  • must currently be an Active or International member (age 55 or younger);
  • must provide a biosketch, full curriculum vitae, and a trainee table;
  • must identify a former mentee to provide a statement of support (500-word limit);
  • must complete the ASCI’s demographic survey; and
  • must identify their research domain(s).

To start a nomination:

Nominations may be started by the nominator or the nominee:

  • Access your member account
  • Go to the “Activities / nominations” tab
  • Go to the section for “ASCI / Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award”

For the nominator:

  • Select “I’m the nominator” option
  • Search for your nominee
  • Click on “Start nomination”
  • If the nominee has not already claimed her/his part of the nomination, click on “Send nominee information to access the nominee’s part of the nomination” to send the nominee an email to access and edit her/his aspect of the nomination (see above).
  • Supply the required information (see above)
  • Submit this aspect of the nomination

For the nominee:

  • Select “I’m the nominee” option
  • Supply the required information (see above)
  • Submit this aspect of the nomination