2024
Loïc Yengo, PhD
Nadav Ahituv, PhD
The ASHG Early Career Award recognizes early career independent investigators whose work has had a significant impact on the field of human genetics. Dr. Loïc Yengo is a statistical geneticist and Associate Professor/Director at the University of Queensland in Australia, who has already made groundbreaking contributions to population genetics and the study of complex diseases. We are also excited that he will be a UCSF Presidential Chair visiting us for the winter quarter, 2025 from January through March. Dr. Yengo is recognized for his innovative ideas and impactful research including notable contributions to the discovery of genes responsible for inter-individual variation in complex traits such as human height and risk of common disease. Learn more about Dr. Yengo’s work.
The ASHG Scientific Achievement Award recognizes genetics and genomics researchers who have made significant scientific contributions during the past decade. Dr. Nadav Ahituv is a professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences and the director of the Institute for Human Genetics at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Ahituv is recognized for his extensive collaborative research that has led to scientific advances in genomic technologies and gene therapy that have the potential to revolutionize human genetics and the treatment of genetic and genomic disorders. Learn more about Dr. Ahituv’s work.
Teresa Sparks, MD, MAS
Kyle Cromer, PhD
Tippi MacKenzie, MD
Drs. Sparks, Cromer, and Mackenzie's proposal entitled “Developing innovative in utero therapy for non-immune hydrops fetalis and RASopathies” has been selected for the Institute for Human Genetics Exploratory Grant Initiative for funding in the amount of $50,000!
Strengths: In this proposal, 2 clinician-scientists (Sparks and MacKenzie) and 1 basic scientist (Cromer) are working together to develop prenatal therapies for fetuses with nonimmune hydrops fetalis (NIHF) and severe, early-onset single gene disorders. If successful, the approach can be applied broadly and be used to treat single gene disorders in utero. The 3 aims of the proposal are feasible within the funding period and will lay the foundation for a biobank of fetuses with NIHF, develop somatic gene editing strategies for patients with RASopathies, and correlate specific RASopathy disease and genotype with severity of in utero disease and postnatal outcomes. The work will be able to demonstrate the feasibility of treating RASopathy patient by somatic gene editing. If successful, it will take prenatal treatment of an important group of NIHF patients to a new level and high likelihood of NIH granting support.
Weaknesses: Somatic gene editing takes time (especially when one must screen multiple edited cell lines to make sure that no deleterious off-target effects are present) and fetal development progresses rapidly, it may be challenging to get the fetus treated in time before major developmental defects appear. However, this is a practical problem that is not within the scope of the proposal.
W. Thomas Boyce, MD
Kathleen Giacomini, PhD
Geeta Narlikar, PhD
Neil Powe, MD, MPH, MBA
Four scientists and clinicians at UC San Francisco have been honored in 2024 with election to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAA&S), one of the nation’s oldest and most distinguished societies.
Justin Eyquem, PhD
Three UC San Francisco scientists have received 2024 Pew awards to fund their research in neuroscience and cancer. They include a cognitive scientist, Vijay Mohan K Namboodiri, PhD, who is challenging the reigning theory of learning; Justin Eyquem, PhD, a bioengineer who aims to build cancer-fighting cell therapies from within a person’s body; and Jovanka Gencel-Augusto, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar from Peru who is studying cancer genetics.
Eric J. Small, MD, FASCO
Felix Feng, MD
UCSF Prostate Cancer Program is the recipient of the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant for prostate cancer. The program will receive about $7 million to develop new approaches to the prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. The prostate cancer SPORE will be co-led by Eric J. Small, MD, FASCO, a medical oncologist who is a UCSF professor of medicine and urology, co-leader of the UCSF Prostate Cancer Program and deputy director and chief scientific officer of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (HDFCCC), and Felix Feng, MD, a radiation oncologist who is a professor of radiation oncology, urology and medicine at UCSF and co-leader of the UCSF Prostate Cancer Program.
2023
Neil Risch, PhD, MS
The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) has named Neil Risch, PhD, MS, Lamond Family Foundation Distinguished Professor in Human Genetics, Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, and Inaugural Director of the Institute for Human Genetics, at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), as the 2023 recipient of the annual ASHG Lifetime Achievement Award.
The ASHG Lifetime Achievement Award, which carries a $25,000 prize, recognizes substantial and far-reaching scientific contributions to human genetics.
Dr. Risch, a statistical geneticist, genetic epidemiologist, and population geneticist is involved in a variety of projects of both theoretical and applied nature. These studies include both clinical and population genetic projects.
Jeffrey Bluestone, PhD
Immunologist and UCSF Professor Emeritus Jeffrey Bluestone, PhD, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) – one of the highest honors bestowed on American scientists.
With more than 500 published papers, Bluestone has helped to advance understanding of the basic processes that control T-cell activation and immune tolerance in autoimmunity, organ transplantation and cancer. His research has informed the development of multiple immunotherapies, including the recently FDA-approved, anti-human CD3 antibody teplizumab for type 1 diabetes; the first FDA-approved drug targeting T-cell co-stimulation to treat autoimmune disease and organ transplantation; and the first CTLA-4 antagonist drugs approved for the treatment of metastatic melanoma.
Kevan Shokat, PhD
The UC San Francisco scientist who developed a successful approach to drugging a protein produced by the mutated KRAS gene has won two prestigious awards in the opening weeks of 2023. The discovery, made by Kevan Shokat, PhD, in 2013 opened up new avenues for cancer treatment and research.
Shokat, a professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology, was recognized by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) with the organization’s annual Award for Scientific Discovery – given for pioneering breakthroughs in chemical biology to advance cancer therapy. He received $50,000 in prize money and another $50,000 to support his research.
Shokat was also honored as the recipient of the Sjöberg Prize from the Swedish Academy of Sciences, the same body that awards the Nobel prizes for physics, chemistry and economics.
2022
Judith Auerbach, PhD
Atul Butte, MD, PhD
Bruce Ovbiagele, MD, MSc, MAS, MBA, MLS
Three UC San Francisco researchers have been named 2022 fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which is the world’s largest general scientific society and publishes the influential Science family of journals.
Election to AAAS is one of the highest honors in science and recognizes important contributions to research, as well as teaching, mentoring, fostering collaboration and promoting public understanding of science.
Stephen L. Hauser, MD, Professor of Neurology and Director of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, has been chosen by the American Brain Foundation (ABF) to receive its second annual Scientific Breakthrough Award. Hauser is being honored for his career-long commitment to advancing the understanding of the genetic basis, immune mechanisms and treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). The Scientific Breakthrough Award is given to an individual or group whose research has led to meaningful advances for the care of patients living with neurological disease. In bestowing the award, the foundation noted that, “Hauser’s research led to the development of B cell therapies for people with multiple sclerosis, representing a powerful new approach for progressive forms of the disease. His 40+ year, career-long commitment has changed the landscape of treatment and deepened our understanding of MS.”
Katherine S. Pollard, PhD
Elected into the National Academy of Medicine.
Allan Balmain, PhD, FRS
Has been selected to receive a $25 million Cancer Grand Challenges award to investigate the very early stages of cancer development.
2020
Katherine Hyland, PhD
Received the 2020 Academic Senate Distinction in Teaching Award by the UCSF Academic Senate.
Mark Anderson, MD, PhD
Elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Aleksandar Rajkovic, MD, PhD
Elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
2019
Akinyemi Oni-Orisan, PharmD, PhD
Received the 2020 Darrell Abernethy Early Stage Investigator Award by the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (ASCPT).
Marta Sabbadini, PhD, MS, LCGC
Jessica Van Ziffle, PhD
Each received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Academy of Medical Educators (AME).
Kathleen Giacomini, PhD
Received the UCSF Academic Senate Faculty Research Lecture Award in Translational Science.
2018
Ying-Hui Fu, PhD
Elected to the National Academy of Sciences, to the National Academy of Taiwan, Academia Sinica, and to the National Academy of Medicine.
Pui-Yan Kwok, MD, PhD
Elected to the National Academy of Taiwan, Academia Sinica.
Andrej Sali, PhD
Elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
2017
Pui-Yan Kwok MD, PhD
Received the 2017 Distinguished Service Award from the University of Chicago Medical & Biological Sciences Alumni Association. The award recognizes Dr. Kwok’s outstanding leadership and contributions to the biological sciences and medicine through research, clinical care, and professional service.
2016
Lauren Weiss, PhD
Awarded the 2016 Chancellor Diversity Award.
Esteban Burchard, MD, MPH
Awarded the Innovations in Health Equality — Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Thoracic Society.
2015
Louis J. Ptáček, MD
Received the the American Society for Clinical Investigation’s Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award.
Ophir Klein, MD, PhD
Awarded the E Mead Johnson Award from the Society for Pediatric Research.
2014
Sharon Chung, MD
Awarded the School of Medicine Irene Perstein Award.
Yuet Wai Kan, MD, DSc, FRS
Named the Pioneer Award winner at the 2014 Silicon Valley Personalized Medicine World Conference (PMWC).
2013
Esteban Burchard, MD, MPH
Awarded the Harry Hind Distinguished Professorship by the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences for his role as Director of the Center for Genes, Environments & Health. The Professorship was endowed in the School of Pharmacy in honor of Harry W. Hind, a pharmacist and inventor who graduated from the UC School of Pharmacy, a predecessor of the UCSF School of Pharmacy.
Matthew State, MD, PhD
Elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.
Nadav Ahituv, PhD
Recipient of the Leon I. Goldberg Young Investigator Award of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASCPT).
2012
Ying-Hui Fu, PhD
Louis J. Ptáček, MD
Joint recipients of 2012 UCSF Academic Senate Faculty Research Lecture Award.
Louis J. Ptáček, MD
Elected to National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors bestowed on scientists and engineers in the United States.
Jennifer Puck, MD
Elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.
2011
Robert Nussbaum, MD
Recipient of the 2011 Klaus Joachim Zülch Neuroscience Prize by the Gertrud Reemtsma Foundation in Germany for his Parkinson’s disease discoveries.
2010
Ophir Klein, MD, PhD
Lauren Weiss, PhD
Drs. Klein and Weiss both received the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. Each individual award covers up to $1.5 million in research costs over five years.
Walter L. Miller, MD
Awarded Duke University’s Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Neil Risch, PhD, MS
Elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.
2009
Walter L. Miller, MD
Professor Miller was awarded the UCSF Academic Senate’s Ninth Annual Distinguished Clinical Research Lecturer.
Esteban Burchard, MD, MPH
Elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Established in 1908, the ASCI is one of the oldest medical honor societies in the US. More than 2,800 physician-scientists from all medical specialties are elected members of the Society based upon their records of achievement in biomedical research.
Kathleen Giacomini, PhD
Awarded the 2009 Rawls-Palmer Progress in Medicine Award. Dr. Giacomini is the first woman to receive the Award. The Rawls-Palmer Progress in Medicine Award was established in 1978 by the late William B. Rawls, MD, a New York physician and the father of the modern organizational structure of American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, to recognize midcareer clinical pharmacologists who make an outstanding contribution to improved patient care through drug research.
2008
Louis J. Ptáček, MD
Elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies and independent policy research centers.
2007
Louis J. Ptáček, MD
Elected to the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences. Established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine is a national resource for independent, scientifically informed analysis and recommendations on issues related to human health. With their election, members make a commitment to devote a significant amount of volunteer time as members of IOM study committees.
2006
Pui-Yan Kwok, MD, DSc, FRS
Honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America. It is the first time the award has been presented. Dr. Kan is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and was recently named to the Institute of Medicine. His previous honors also include the Helmut Horten Research Award in 1995, the American College of Physicians Award in 1988, the Waterford Award in Biomedical Sciences in 1987, the Allan Award of the American Society of Human Genetics and the Gairdner International Award in 1984, the Dameshek Award from the American Society of Hematology in 1979, Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine in 2004, and the distinguished Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award, the nation’s most prestigious honor in the clinical research field, in 1991.
