ASHG Awards Overview

Allan Award

Stern Award

Student Awards

Award for Excellence in Human Genetics Education

C.W. Cotterman Award

General Award Submission Guidelines: All award nominations must be submitted online, through the appropriate link below. Please note that posthumous nominations will not be accepted. If you have any other specific questions regarding ASHG awards, please direct them to klong@ashg.org.

Allan Award

The Allan Award, the major award given by the American Society of Human Genetics, was established in 1961 in memory of William Allan (1881-1943), one of the first American physicians to conduct extensive research in human genetics. The Allan Award is presented annually to recognize substantial and far-reaching scientific contributions to human genetics, carried out over a sustained period of scientific inquiry and productivity. It consists of an engraved medal and an award of $10,000 presented at the Annual Meeting. The award is given yearly but can be omitted in any given year at the discretion of the Board. The winner presents a 30-45 minute address to the ASHG meeting participants, and it is customary to submit a manuscript of his/her presentation to the American Journal of Human Genetics. The presentation of the award is not contingent upon the address and submission of a manuscript. Nominations will be solicited from committee members and the general membership.

Submit a nomination for this award (CLOSED)

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Stern Award

The Stern Award honors the memory of Curt Stern (1902-1981) as an outstanding pioneering human geneticist. This award is presented yearly for outstanding scientific achievements in human genetics that occurred in the last 10 years. The work could be a single major discovery or may be a series of contributions on a similar or related topic. The monetary award is $2,500 to be presented at the Annual Meeting. Nominations will be solicited from the general membership.

Submit a nomination for this award (CLOSED)

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Student Awards

The Board, in consultation with the committee chairperson, determines the number of awards to be given for student presentations at the Annual Meeting, the categories for which they are given, and the amount of each award. The chairperson works closely on the Student Awards Program with the Executive Vice-President and the chairperson of the Program Committee. Scoring is done by the Program Committee and the top ranking abstracts are submitted to the Awards Committee. Finalists are then selected by the committee prior to the Annual Meeting. Winners are chosen after the committee judges the finalists' presentations. Previous recipients' names will be listed in the supplement to the journal (program and abstracts volume).

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Award for Excellence in Human Genetics Education

The Society has established an award to recognize outstanding contributions to human genetics education. Nominees must have made a contribution that is recognized nationally or internationally as being of exceptional quality and great importance to human genetics education. Examples include producing a set of writings that has had a major influence on human genetics education, developing a course or curriculum that is widely emulated, writing a book that has been adopted by many universities, producing a popular television series on medical genetics, developing a website, or directing a fellowship program that has consistently produced unusually successful graduates. The range of possible contributions to human genetics is great, and the possible target audiences may be diverse, but the quality must be outstanding and impact of the contribution must be far-reaching. Nominations should strive to highlight the comprehensive nature of the nominees work in human genetics education. Nominees may be individuals or groups. All nominees and winners must be current ASHG members. If a group is nominated, at least one member of the group must be a current member. The documentation for a complete nomination consists of the Nomination Form that details the individual's (or group) qualifications and educational contribution(s) as well the names and contact information of two other ASHG members that can be contacted to provide additional information for the nomination. The award recipient will be selected by the Awards Committee from the nominations received by the Information and Education Committee.

Submit a nomination for this award (CLOSED)

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C.W. Cotterman Award

Each September, the editorial board of the American Journal of Human Genetics selects two articles that best represent outstanding contributions to the field of genetics. Two awards will be presented annually and a monetary award of $500 and a plaque will be presented for the best paper published in the Journal during the previous year on which the first author was either a pre- or postdoctoral trainee and an ASHG member.