Mentoring Keynote

About the Award

Nominations/Applications for all 2026 awards are now closed.
Self-Nominate Nominate a Colleague

 

The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) presents the Mentoring Keynote Lecture to an individual who exemplifies excellence in mentoring through their impact on the training and development of scientists and scholars from underrepresented groups. The recipient is selected by the ASCB MAC Committee.

Award Details

The winner receives a plaque, a $1,000 prize, complimentary Cell Bio Meeting registration, and will give the Mentoring Keynote at the meeting.

Who is Eligible

Nominators and self-nominators must be ASCB members, but the candidate need not be. Current voting members of the MAC are not eligible.

Selection Criteria

  • Candidate’s history of mentoring impact and significant contributions to mentoring the next generation of URM/PEER scientists
  • Candidate’s strong history of funding to foster mentoring best practices, as appropriate to the nominee’s home institution
  • Candidate’s national/international recognition in science in his/her field
  • Candidate’s national/international recognition in mentoring of URM/PEERs in the sciences

How to Apply

Candidates may either self-apply or be nominated.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION

If nominating someone

  1. Letter describing the candidate’s background, contributions, and qualifications for receiving the award, no longer than 2 pages.
  2. Letter of support also describing the above, no longer than 2 pages.

If self-applying, or once nominated

  1. Narrative statement describing your background, contributions, qualifications for receiving the award, and demonstrated commitment to ASCB’s values, no longer than 2 pages.
  2. A letter of support endorsing your application, no longer than 2 pages.
  3. Biosketch (NIH format or similar) no longer than 5 pages.

Please Note

  1. ASCB wants to ensure that the pool of award candidates is as diverse and inclusive as possible. The demographic questions are for internal reporting only and are not viewable by award reviewers. The questions are not mandatory, however we would appreciate your responses so that we can assess our level of inclusivity.
  2. As a founder of the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) ASCB does not use journal impact factors or other journal-based metrics in the evaluation process for its awards. ASCB looks at an individual’s research contributions and impact on the field, rather than the prestige of the journals where work is published.

All Recent Awardee Photos

Award Winners

  • 2026—Sherilynn Black
  • 2025—Margaret Werner-Washburne
  • 2024—Sonya Neal
  • 2023—Antentor Hinton
  • 2022—John Matsui
  • 2021—Beronda Montgomery
  • 2020—MariaElena B. Zavala
  • 2019—David Asai
  • 2017—Isiah M. Warner
  • 2016—Tracy L. Johnson
  • 2015—JoAnn Trejo
  • 2014—Renato Aguilera
  • 2013—Lovell P. Jones
  • 2012—Winston Anderson
  • 2011—James H. Wyche
  • 2010—Isiah M. Warner
  • 2009—Lydia Villa-Komarof
  • 2008—Clifton Poodry
  • 2007—Elma Gonzalez