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Society Awards

To honor those BPS members who inspire and elevate the biophysics community.

The Biophysical Society Awards Program celebrates individuals whose achievements and contributions exemplify the best in our field and inspire us all. By recognizing excellence in discovery, innovation, education, mentorship, and service, the program honors those who personify integrity within our global community. BPS awardees serve as beacons for our discipline, embodying the curiosity, rigor, and commitment that strengthen the foundation of biophysics worldwide.

Nominations are open for the 2027 award cycle. Submission Deadline is May 1, 2026 11:59 PM USA Eastern.

Fellow of the Biophysical Society

For sustained scientific excellence and contributions in the field of biophysics.

2026 Recipients

Kenneth J. Breslauer
Linus Pauling Distinguished Professor, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA

Susan K. Buchanan
National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, NIH, USA

Deborah Leckband
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

Alexander D. MacKerell, Jr.
University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA

Huan-Xiang Zhou
University of Illinois Chicago, USA

 

Past Recipients

2025 Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Enrique M. De La Cruz, Enrico Gratton, Vasanthi Jayaraman, Edward A. Lemke, Leslie M. Loew, Tanja Mittag
2024 Rommie E. Amaro, Ivet Bahar, Jennifer A. Doudna, Kresten Lindorff-Larsen, Gary J. Pielak, Eugene Shakhnovich, Michelle D. Wang
2023 Nancy Carrasco, Ka Yee C. Lee, Boris Martinac, Daniel L. Minor, Jr., William E. Moerner, Gerd Ulrich Nienhaus, Catherine A. Royer
2022 Roger Cooke, Karen G. Fleming, Angela M. Gronenborn, Martin Karplus, Stephen Kowalczykowski, Dame Carol V. Robinson, Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede
2021 Hashim Al-Hashimi, Hermann Gaub, Vincent Hilser, Leemor Joshua-Tor, Sarah Keller, Carol Post, Lukas Tamm, Ada Yonath
2020 Charalampos Babis Kalodimos, Steven Chu, Taekjip Ha, Eva Nogales, Benjamin Schuler, Cynthia Wolberger, Hao Wu
2019 Marileen Dogterom, Judith Frydman, Gilad Haran, Stefan Hell, Kenneth Johnson, Zaida Luthey-schulten, Rohit Pappu
2018 Patricia Bassereau, James Bowie, Astrid Graslund, Roderick Mackinnon, Sheena Radford, Sriram Subramaniam, H. Lee Sweeney, Harel Weinstein
2017 Jonathon Howard, Lewis E. Kay, Brian Kobilka, Michael Levitt, Jane S. Richardson, Petra Schwille, Bonnie Wallace
2016 Mario L. Amzel, Charles L. Brooks, Walter J. Chazin, Jane Clarke, Angel E. Garcia, Antoinette Killian, Matthias Rief, Nancy L. Thompson, Eduardo Perozo
2015 Joseph J. Falke, Susan Marqusee, Sharon Hammes- Schiffer, George Phillips, Timothy Lohman, James Sellers
2014 Barbara Baird, Michael Brown, Lila Gierasch, Karolin Luger, Benoit Roux, Michael Sheetz, Devarajan Thirumalai, David Warshaw
2012 Toshio Yanagida, Klaus Schulten, Carlos Bustamante, Frances Separovic, Tamar Schlick, José Onuchic, Gregory Voth
2011 Valerie Daggett, Donald M. Engelman, Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, Erwin Neher, Ruth Nussinov, Lynne J. Regan, Anthony Watts
2010 Steven M. Block, David S. Cafiso, G. Marius Clore, Michael A. Edidin, Shelagh Ferguson-Miller, Andrew Joshua Wand
2009 Donald M. Bers, Betty J. Gaffney, Robert L. Jernigan, Mark T. Nelson, Diane M. Papazian
2008 Timothy A. Cross, Eve E. Marder, Ivan Rayment, Stephen G. Sligar, Attila Szabo
2007 Steven Boxer, Maurizio Brunori, William Cramer, Elliot L. Elson, George P. Hess
2006 Michael Bárány, Yale Goldman, Martin Gruebele, M. Thomas Record, J. Walter Woodbury, Xialing Sunney Xie
2005 Sunney I. Chan, Edward H. Egelman, Jeffrey Skolnick, David D. Thomas, Ernest M. Wright
2004 David L. Beveridge, Ronald N. McElhaney, Mauricio Montal, Brian D. Sykes
2003 Mordecai P. Blaustein, David R. Davies, Richard M. Epand, John Gergely, Rufus Lumry, James H. Prestegard, Peter G. Wolynes
2002 David DeRosier, Ken Dill, William A. Eaton, Joachim Frank, Hans Frauenfelder, Robert Gennis, Wayne Hendrickson, Terrell L. Hill, Joseph Hoffman, H. Ronald Kaback, Irwin Kuntz, Jon Lederer, John L. Markley, John Schellman, Ignacio Tinoco, Peter H. von Hippel, Stephen White, Clare Woodward, Bruno Zimm
2001 Helen Berman, Ludwig Brand, George Feher, Manuel Morales, Wilma Olson, Arieh Warshel
2000 Gary K. Ackers, Richard W. Aldrich, Clay M. Armstrong, Daniel Axelrod, Robert L. Baldwin, Francisco Bezanilla, Rodney L. Biltonen, Kevin P. Campbell, Charles R. Cantor, Donald L. D. Caspar, Carolyn Cohen, Donald M. Crothers, David Eisenberg, S. Walter Englander, Bertil Hille, Barry Honig, Wayne Hubbell, Hugh E. Huxley, William P. Jencks, Jack H. Kaplan, Peter S. Kim, Susan Lowey, J. Andrew McCammon, Harden M. McConnell, Gerhard Meissner, Peter B. Moore, V. Adrian Parsegian, Thomas D. Pollard, Frederic M. Richards, Michael G. Rossmann, Harold Scheraga, Andrew P. Somlyo, Avril V. Somlyo, Robert M. Stroud, Andrew G. Szent-Gyorgyi, Thomas E. Thompson, Richard W. Tsien, Watt W. Webb, Annemarie Weber

Founders Award

For outstanding contributions to the field of biophysics.

2026 Awardee

Ken A. Dill

Stony Brook University, USA

Past Recipients

2025: Devarajan Thirumalai
2024: Steven G. Boxer
2023: José Nelson Onuchic
2022: Timothy A. Springer
2021: Angela M. Gronenborn
2020: Dan Herschlag
2019: Juli Feigon
2018: James Spudich
2017: Donald E. Ingber
2016: Steven Block
2015: Harold Scheraga
2014: Arieh Warshel
2013: Peter von Hippel
2012: Sunney Xie
2011: Attila Szabo
2010: S. Walter Englander
2009: Keiichi Namba

2008: Peter G. Wolynes
2007: Clara Franzini-Armstrong
2006: William A. Eaton
2005: Thomas G. Spiro
2004: Carlos Bustamante
2003: Irwin Kuntz
2002: Barry Honig
2001: M. Thomas Record
2000: Carolyn Cohen
1999: Robert L. Baldwin
1998: Michael G. Rossmann
1997: William H. Woodruff
1996: Ignacio Tinoco, Jr.
1995: David A. Yphantis
1994: Gary K. Ackers
1993: David J. DeRosier and Joachim Frank
1992: Robert M. Glaeser
1991: Wayne L. Hubbell
1990: Joel Brown
1989: Ramon Latorre
1988: Seymour H. Koenig
1987: Lawrence B. Cohen
1986: George Eisenman


Carolyn Cohen Innovation Award

For innovative advances in the understanding of biological systems.

2026 Awardee

Jie Xiao

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USA

Past Recipients

2025: Daniel R. Larson
2024: Takanari Inoue
2023: Jin Zhang
2022: Bridget Carragher
2021: Gregory A. Voth
2020: G. Marius Clore
2019: Songi Han


Rosalba Kampman Distinguished Service Award

For exceptional service in the field of biophysics.

2026 Awardee

Nuria Assa-Munt

Center for Scientific Review, National Institutes of Health, USA

Past Recipients

2024: Frances Separovic
2022: Dorothy Beckett
2020: Jean Chin
2018: Leslie Loew
2016: Yale E. Goldman
2015: Kamal Shukla
2014: Linda Kenney
2013: Klaus Schulten
2012: Edward Egelman
2011: Olaf Andersen
2010: Mordecai P. Blaustein
2009: Jeremy M. Berg
2008: Robert Callender
2007: Ken Dill

2006: Robert Gunn
2005: Sarah Hitchcock-DeGregori
2004: Mary Dicky Barkley
2003: Marvin Cassman
2002: Peter Moore
2001: Frederic M. Richards
2000: Helen Berman
1999: Stephen H. White
1998: Victor A. Bloomfield
1997: Thomas D. Pollard


Emily M. Gray Distinguished Educator Award

For significant contributions to biophysics education and mentoring.

2025 Awardee

Silvia Cavagnero

University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

View Presentation

Past Recipients

2023: Jonathan A. King
2021: Doug Barrick
2019: Yves De Koninck
2018: Madeline Shea
2017: Enrique M. De La Cruz
2016: Douglas Robinson
2015: Meyer Jackson
2014: Alberto Diaspro
2013: Louis de Felice
2012: Kenneth Dill and Sarina Bromberg
2011: Bertil Hille
2010: Greta Pifat-Mrzljak
2009: Philip C. Nelson
2008: Donald M. Crothers

2007: John Steve Olson
2006: Ignacio Tinoco, Jr.
2005: Barry R. Lentz
2004: Richard D. Ludescher
2003: Michael Summers
2002: Norma Allewell
2001: Jane Richardson
2000: Charles Cantor and Paul Schimmel
1999: Kensal E. van Holde
1998: Muriel S. Prouty


Excellence in Undergraduate Education Award

For excellence in research and mentoring at a primarily undergraduate institution.

2026 Awardee

Ashley R. Carter

Amherst College, USA

Past Recipients

2025: Elizabeth Yates

 


Michael and Kate Bárány Award

For exceptional contributions by a person who has not yet achieved the rank of full professor or equivalent.

2026 Awardees

Jorge Alegre-Cebollada

Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Spain

Elizabeth Hinde

School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Australia

Past Recipients

2025: Hernan G. Garcia
2024: Julia Mahamid
2023: Jeanne C. Stachowiak
2022: Suckjoon Jun
2021: Tanja Mittag
2020: Clifford P. Brangwynne
2019: Elizabeth Rhoades
2018: Bianxiao Cui
2017: Ahmet Yildiz
2016: Olga Boudker
2015: Sarah Teichmann
2014: Miriam Goodman
2013: Patricia Clark
2012: Vijay Pande
2011: Charalampos Kalodimos
2010: Mark J. Schnitzer
2009: Gaudenz M. Danuser
2008: Sergei I. Sukharev
2007: Taekjip Ha
2006: Anne-Frances Miller
2005: Vincent Hilser

2004: Paul R. Selvin
2003: Patricia Jennings
2002: William Zagotta
2001: Shimon Weiss
2000: Elizabeth A. Komives
1999: Gaetano T. Montelione
1998: Winfried Denk
1997: Donald W. Hilgemann
1996: David P. Corey
1995: Roderick MacKinnon
1994: Steven M. Block
1993: Ronald D. Vale
1992: Richard W. Aldrich


Early Career Award

For noteworthy contributions to research and service in the first six years of their independent position.

2026 Awardee

Erdinc Sezgin

SciLifeLab, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Past Recipients

2025: Christopher O. Barnes

 


Margaret Oakley Dayhoff Award

For a woman achieving prominence in scholarship and/or leadership at an early career stage.

2026 Awardee

Hawa Racine Thiam

Stanford University, USA

Past Recipients

2025: Doreen Matthies
2024: Lu Wei
2023: Elizabeth H. Kellogg
2022: Gabriela Schlau-Cohen
2021: Randy Stockbridge
2020: Valeria Vásquez
2019: Meytal Landau
2018: Carrie Partch
2017: Julie S. Biteen
2016: Sophie Dumont and Polina Lishko
2015: Antonina Roll-Mecak
2014: Sarah Veatch
2013: Jennifer Ross and Katherine Henzler-Wildman
2012: Lucy R. Forrest
2011: Diane Lidke
2010: Crina Nimigean and Maria Spies
2009: Teresa Giraldez, Adrienne L. Fairhall, and Jin Zhang
2008: Judith Klein-Seetharaman
2007: Kalina Hristova
2006: Anne Hinderliter
2005: Sarah Keller
2004: Dorothee Kern
2003: Hao Wu
2002: Gina MacDonald
2001: Millie M. Georgiadis and Ka Yee Christina Lee
2000: Lydia M. Gregoret

1998/99: Judith R. Mourant
1997/98: Bonnie Anne Berger
1996/97: Susan Marqusee
1995/96: Lynne Regan
1994/95: Hillary C. M. Nelson
1993/94: Jean S. Baum
1992/93: Carol Vandenberg
1991/92: Hazel M. Holden and Francine R. Smith
1990/91: Jeanne Rudzki Small
1989/90: Anne Walter
1988/89: Nancy L. Thompson
1987/88: Rachel Klevit
1986/87: Barbara E. Ehrlich
1985/86: Barbara A. Lewis
1984/85: Dagmar Ringe and Bonnie Ann Wallace


Doctoral Research Award

For excellence in research, writing, and service during doctoral training.

2026 Awardees

Yiechang Lin

Australian National University, Australia

Kai Sheng

Scripps Research, USA

Past Recipients

2025: Hugo Lachuer and Nadab Wubshet

 


Agnes Pockels Award in Lipids and Membrane Biophysics

For outstanding contributions that advanced the field of lipids and membrane biophysics.

2026 Awardee

Sarah Veatch

University of Michigan, USA

Past Recipients

2025: Janice L. Robertson
2024: Kandice Levental and Ilya Levental
2023: Karen G. Fleming
2022: Patricia Bassereau
2021: Richard Pastor
2020: Akihiro Kusumi
2019: Enrico Gratton
2018: Wonhwa Cho
2017: Sarah L. Keller
2016: Philip Yeagle
2015: Gerald Feigenson
2014: Michael Brown
2013: Joseph Zasadzinski
2012: Huey W. Huang
2011: Eric Oldfield
2010: James A. Hamilton
2009: Stephen H. White
2008: Ben de Kruijff
2007: Klaus Gawrisch

2006: Thomas E. Thompson
2005: Joachim Seelig
2004: Thomas J. McIntosh
2003: John F. Nagle and Stephanie Tristram-Nagle
2002: N/A
2001: Ronald McElhaney
2000: Edward A. Dennis
1999: Richard M. Epand
1998: Lewis C. Cantley
1997: Ching-hsien Huang


Award in Membrane Protein Biophysics

For outstanding contributions that advanced the field of membrane protein biophysics.

2026 Awardee

Yifan Cheng

University of California, San Francisco, USA

Past Recipients

2025: Paula J. Booth
2024: Susan K. Buchanan
2023: Krzysztof (Kris) Palczewski
2022: William Dowhan
2021: Nieng Yan
2020: Gunnar von Heijne
2019: Raymond Stevens
2018: Jue Chen
2017: James U. Bowie
2016: Eric Gouaux
2015: Anthony Watts
2014: Douglas Rees
2013: Carol Robinson

2012: Charles R. Sanders
2011: Shelagh Ferguson-Miller
2010: Tom A. Rapoport
2009: Robert M. Stroud
2008: H. Ronald Kaback


Ignacio Tinoco Award in Physical Chemistry of Macromolecules

For outstanding contributions that advanced the field of physical chemistry of macromolecules.

2026 Awardee

A. Joshua Wand

Texas A&M University, USA

Past Recipients

2025: Gilad Haran
2024: M. Thomas Record, Jr.
2023: Sarah A. Woodson
2022: Paul R. Selvin
2021: Peter H. von Hippel
2020: Elliot L. Elson
2019: Harry F. Noller

 


Kazuhiko Kinosita Award in Single-Molecule Biophysics

For outstanding contributions that advanced the field of single-molecule biophysics.

2026 Awardee

Cornelis (Cees) Dekker

Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands

Past Recipients

2025: Scott C. Blanchard
2024: Christy F. Landes
2023: Ben Schuler
2022: Shimon Weiss
2021: Carlos Bustamante
2020: Yale E. Goldman
2019: Jeff Gelles
2018: Taekjip Ha
2017: Shin'ichi Ishiwata

US Genomics Award Past Awardees

2011: Toshio Yanagida
2010: Jane Clarke
2009: Julio M. Fernandez
2008: Steven M. Block
2007: Howard C. Berg
2006: James A. Spudich


Award in the Biophysics of Health and Disease

For outstanding contributions using biophysics to advance understanding of health and disease.

2026 Awardee

Wonhwa Cho

University of Illinois Chicago, USA

Past Recipients

2025: Elizabeth A. Jonas
2024: Nancy Carrasco
2023: Kevin H. Gardner
2022: Stephen C. Cannon
2021: Andrea Meredith
2020: Alexandra C. Newton

 

Klaus Schulten and Zaida Luthey-Schulten Award in Computational Biophysics

For outstanding contributions that advance the field of computational biophysics.

2026 Awardee

Charles L. Brooks III

University of Michigan, USA

Past Recipients

2025: James A. Glazier