The Dr. Laure Aurelian Biomedical Research Award was established in 2022 to recognize an early-career faculty member who is either:
a) a woman scholar conducting innovative basic or translational biomedical research OR
b) an investigator conducting innovative basic or translational studies in women’s health OR
c) an exceptional mentor of junior women biomedical researchers (e.g., graduate students or postdocs).
Eligible early-career faculty will have received their final MD and/or PhD degree within the previous eight years or will have been at their current level (typically assistant professor) no more than four years. All eligible candidates must also exhibit intellectual independence.
To cement Dr. Aurelian’s legacy, the Aurelian Family selected two institutions that will be invited to submit nominations of early-career scholars for this annual award funded by the Dr. Laure Aurelian Biomedical Research Endowment: Stanford Medicine and the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Two early-career faculty awardees will be selected for recognition annually from each institution. The Award is named in honor of Dr. Laure Aurelian, who was passionate about and committed to engaging in rigorous collaborative research and advancing the careers of early career faculty and women scientists.
In 1966, Dr. Aurelian became the first woman to receive a PhD from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She then joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins, where she reached the rank of professor. In 1983, she was recruited by the University of Maryland School of Medicine as Professor in the Departments of Pharmacology and Microbiology. She received her first R01 award in 1968 and was then continuously supported by NIH grants for five decades. In 2013, Dr. Aurelian accepted the part-time position of Senior Advisor for Faculty Development in the Office of Faculty Development and Diversity at Stanford Medicine.
Dr. Aurelian’s research interests focused on virology, immunology, and cellular and molecular biology, with emphasis on cancer and neuroscience. She was the author of over 230 peer-reviewed journal articles. She was a pioneer in developing gene therapy using oncolytic viruses, and based on her innovative research, she held fourteen US and foreign patents.
Between 1968 and 2018, first at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and then at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Dr. Aurelian trained more than thirty-seven predoctoral students and sixty postdoctoral fellows, virtually all of whom hold academic positions. Dr. Aurelian served on standing study sections reviewing R01, PO1 and K award applications. In her role as Senior Advisor at Stanford Medicine, she mentored over 80 Stanford Medicine junior faculty. Her success rate with Stanford Medicine faculty applying for grants was 94% upon first submission.
PDF of Guidelines for Nominee Personal Statement
The nomination deadline is April 26, 2024.
(Nominating faculty should be associate or full professors)