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Awards and Lectures
Norman Cousins Award
To contribute to the advancement of knowledge in psychoneuroimmunology, Ellen Cousins, Norman’s wife, created the Norman Cousins Memorial Fund, and the California Wellness Foundation provided the endowment for the Norman Cousins Memorial Award and Lecture to be delivered as a highlight of the annual meeting of the PsychoNeuroImmunology Research Society. The award recipient, to be announced at the PNIRS 2025 Annual Meeting, will present the Norman Cousins Memorial Lecture at the PNIRS 2026 meeting and receive a $1,000 award. Eligibility: Regular and Emeritus members of PNIRS are eligible. Current PNIRS officers are not eligible for nomination. Recipients of the Norman Cousins Award: 1991 – Robert Ader, n/a
1993 – George F. Solomon, n/a 1994 – Jean E. Merrill, n/a 1996 – Hugo O. Besedovsky, n/a 1997 – John F. Sheridan, Volume 12, Issue 1, March 1998, Pages 1–6 1998 – Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser, Volume 13, Issue 1, March 1999, Pages 61–72 1999 – Cobi Heijnen, Volume 13, Issue 1, March 1999, Pages 61–72 2000 – Robert Dantzer, Volume 15, Issue 1, March , 2001, Pages 7–24 2001 – Christopher Coe, Volume 17, Issue 1, 1 February 2003, Pages 3–12 2002 – Steven Maier, Volume 17, Issue 2, April 2003, Pages 69–85 2003 – Keith Kelley, Volume 18, Issue 2, March 2004, Pages 95–113 2004 – Ronald Glaser, Volume 19, Issue 2, March 2005, Pages 91–103 2005 – Nicholas Cohen, Volume 20, Issue 2, March 2006, Pages 99–112 2006 – Linda Watkins, Volume 21, Issue 2, February 2007, Pages 131–146 2007 – Michael Irwin, Volume 22, Issue 2, February 2008, Pages 129–139 2008 – Andrew Miller, Volume 23, Issue 2, February 2009, Pages 149–158 2009 – Manfred Schedlowski, Volume 24, Issue 2, February 2010, Pages 176–185 2010 – Raz Yirmiya, Volume 25, Issue 2, February 2011, Pages 181–213 2011 – Virginia Sanders, Volume 26, Issue 2, February 2012, Pages 195–200 2012 – Annemieke Kavelaars, n/a 2013 – Mark Laudenslager, Volume 36, February 2014, Pages 1–8 2014 – William 'Bill' Banks, Volume 44, February 2015, Pages 1–8 2015 – Rainer Straub, Volume 43, January 2015, Page 9 2016 – Steve Cole, Volume 51, January 2016, Pages vi 2017 – Carmine Pariante, Volume 59, January 2017, Pages vii 2018 – Rodney Johnson, Volume 67, January 2018, Pages vii 2019 – Monika Fleshner, Volume 75, January 2019, Pages iii-v 2020 – Shamgar Ben-Eliyahu 2021 – Staci Bilbo 2022 – Mark Opp 2023 – Julienne Bower
2024 – Valeria Mondelli
2025 – Kuan-Pin Su
*All citations listed above are in the official journal of the PNIRS: Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. Robert Ader New Investigator Award
This prestigious award is presented to an outstanding new research scientist who has made exciting basic science or clinical contributions to the field of PNI. The award honors Dr. Ader’s innovation and creativity as a scientist and recognizes his contributions to the instantiation of PNI as a meaningful endeavor dedicated to the betterment of health and the prevention of disease. The award entails a dedicated lecture and provides an honorarium from a generous gift by the Fund of Psychoneuroimmunology. The award recipient, to be announced at the PNIRS 2025 Annual Meeting, will present an invited lecture at the PNIRS 2026 meeting and receive a $500 award. Eligibility: Regular members within 10 years of completing their terminal degree (e.g. Ph.D., M.D.) are eligible. Current PNIRS officers are not eligible for nomination. Recipients of the New Investigator's Award: 2001 – Annemieke Kavelaars, n/a 2025 – Stephanie Wilson *All citations listed above are in the official journal of the PNIRS: Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
BBI Impact Award
Recipients of the BBI Impact Award:
2024 – Vittal Katikireddi, article link, viewpoint article
![]() Michael Irwin Travel AwardsPNIRS is pleased to announce the Michael Irwin Travel Awards, made possible through a generous donation from Professor Michael Irwin, Cousins Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience. Travel awards will help offset the cost of attending the PNIRS Annual Meeting. Eligible applicants must submit an abstract, register for the meeting, and attend the current year’s conference. In addition to travel support, awardees will be paired with experienced PNIRS members who will serve as meeting guides to help foster professional development and engagement in the Society. Eligibility Criteria PNIRS Trainee Scholar (Early Career) Travel AwardsThe intent of the PNIRS Trainee Scholar Travel Awards is to facilitate attendance by trainee members at the PNIRS Annual Meeting. To be eligible for an award, awardees must be a PNIRS trainee member, register for the Annual Meeting, submit an abstract and attend the PNIRS Annual Meeting for the current year. Awardees will be selected by the Scientific Affairs Committee using the abstract scoring process as a guide. Awards will vary annually and are to be used to contribute to the trainees' cost of attendance at the PNIRS Annual Meeting. NEW! PNIRSAsia-Pacific Scholar Award The PNIRSAsia-Pacific Scholar Award recognizes and supports outstanding scholars contributing to the advancement of psychoneuroimmunology in the Asia-Pacific region. This award provides honoraria to selected individuals who deliver in-person lectures at designated symposia, fostering international collaboration and scientific exchange. Congratulations to the 2025 awardees!
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