Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science

About the Vanderbilt Prize:

Vanderbilt Prize winners are women who have made significant contributions to the science of medicine. At Vanderbilt, we believe that for society to benefit from biomedical research, we must engage women in basic and clinical investigation, nurture their careers, and attract the most capable individuals. We created the Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science to honor and recognize a woman scientist of national reputation who has a stellar record of research accomplishments and is known for her mentorship of women in science. The Vanderbilt Prize winner also nurtures the career, research, and studies of a promising woman beginning her PhD studies at Vanderbilt, the Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar. The prize recipient gives a lecture at Vanderbilt, will serve as a mentor to the Vanderbilt Prize Scholar, and receives an honorarium.

Eligibility:

Nominees for the Vanderbilt Prize must be women scientists in any area of basic or clinical research or clinical practice. The nominee must have a national reputation, a stellar record of research accomplishments, and must be an active mentor of other women in science. We encourage nominators to consider women of underrepresented populations when selecting a nominee.

Nomination Process:

There is no limit to the number of qualified women scientists an institution may nominate. A complete nomination packet must include the following (as one .pdf) in the order listed below:

Completed nomination form (download template here)
A letter of nomination from the nominee’s department chair or dean
One letter of recommendation from a distinguished peer in basic or clinical research or in clinical practice
Nominee’s complete CV

Nominations are not currently being accepted. If you have any questions, please contact Amy Martinez, PhD (amy.f.martinez@vumc.org)

Vanderbilt Prize Recipients
2019
	Christine Seidman, M.D. Thomas W. Smith Professor in Medicine and Genetics, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital Senior Associate, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Dr. Seidman will receive the Vanderbilt Prize and present as part of the Flexner Discovery Lecture Series on September 12, 2019.
2018
	Angelika Amon, Ph.D. Kathleen and Curtis Marble Professor in Cancer Research and Professor of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Member, MIT Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Dr. Amon presented a Flexner Discovery Lecture and accepted the Vanderbilt Prize on January 31, 2019. Watch Dr. Amon's lecture titled Effects of Aneuploidy on Cell Physiology and Its Role in Tumorigenesis.
2017
	Lynne E. Maquat, Ph.D. J. Lowell Orbison Endowed Chair and Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Director, University of Rochester Center for RNA Biology Chair, University of Rochester Graduate Women in Science See a video of Dr. Maquat's Vanderbilt Prize lecture, Nonsense-Mediated mRNA Decay and Human Disease: Genome Guardian and Executor presented as part of the Flexner Discovery Lecture Series held on November 29, 2018.
2016
	Elaine Fuchs, Ph.D. Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor of the Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, The Rockefeller University Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute See a video of Dr. Fuchs' Vanderbilt Prize lecture, Stem Cells in Science, Action, and Cancer, presented as part of the Flexner Discovery Lecture Series held on March 30, 2017.
2015
	Huda Y. Zoghbi, M.D. Director, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital Professor, Baylor College of Medicine Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute See a video of Dr. Zoghbi's Vanderbilt Prize lecture "The Story of Rett Syndrome and the Insight it Provides into Neuropsychiatric Disorders," as a part of the Flexner Discovery Lecture Series held on April 21, 2016.
2014
	Susan Lindquist, Ph.D. Professor of Biology Massachusetts Institute of Technology Member, Whitehead Institute Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute See a video of Dr. Lindquist's Vanderbilt Prize lecture "From Yeast to Human Stem Cells: A Powerful Discovery Platform For Combatting Neurodegenerative Diseases," as part of the Flexner Discovery Lecture Series held on November 19, 2015, at 4 p.m. in 208 Light Hall. Dr. Lindquist died of cancer in October 2016.
2013
	Laurie Glimcher, M.D. Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean and Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College Provost for Medical Affairs of Cornell University See a video of Dr. Glimcher's Vanderbilt Prize Lecture "ER Stress Sensors in Disease," as part of the Flexner Discovery Lecture Series held on Thursday, May 1 at 4 p.m. in 208 Light Hall. Dr. Glimcher is now president and CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
2012
	Joan A. Steitz, Ph.D. Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry Yale School of Medicine Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute As part of the Flexner Discovery Lecture Series, Dr. Steitz presented a Vanderbilt Prize Lecture titled Noncoding RNAs: with a viral twist on May 2, 2013.
2011
	Titia de Lange, Ph.D. Leon Hess Professor and head of the Laboratory for Cell Biology and Genetics American Cancer Society Research Professor Director, Anderson Center for Cancer Research Rockefeller University, New York Dr. de Lange's Vanderbilt Prize Lecture titled How telomeres solve the end-protection problem was held on February 23, 2012, as part of the Discovery Lecture Series.
2010
	Nancy Andrews, M.D., Ph.D. Dean, Duke University School of Medicine Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Professor of Pediatrics Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology Dr. Andrew presented the Vanderbilt Prize Lecture Forging an Understanding of Iron Homeostasis on March 31, 2011, as part of the Discovery Lecture Series.
2009
	Susan Taylor, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Professor, Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego Dr. Taylor's Vanderbilt Prize Lecture titled Dynamics of Signaling by PKA was held on February 18, 2010, as part of the Discovery Lecture Series.
2008
	Ann Graybiel, Ph.D. Walter A Rosenblith Professor of Neuroscience, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Dr. Graybiel presented the Vanderbilt Prize Lecture Our Habitual Lives: How the Brain Makes and Breaks Habits on October 30, 2008 as part of the Discovery Lecture Series.
2007
	Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D. Winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Medicine Morris Herzstein Endowed Professor in Biology & Physiology, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco Dr. Blackburn's presented Telomeres and Telomerase in Health and Disease in the Discovery Lecture Series on January 10, 2008.
2006
	Nancy Andreasen M.D., Ph.D. Andrew H. Woods Chair of Psychiatry at The University of Iowa Dr. Andreasen presented The Creative Brain: The Neuroscience of Genius in the Discovery Lecture Series on September 28, 2006.