The Human Immunome Project is supporting the next generation of innovators in human immunology in partnership with the Michelson Medical Research Foundation.
The $150,000 Michelson Prizes are awarded annually to support early-career investigators working to advance human immunology, vaccine discovery, and immunotherapy research for major global diseases.
Michelson Prizes Awardees
Omar Abudayyeh, PhD
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
2024
Caleb Lareau, PhD
Assistant Professor, Computational and Systems Biology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
2024
Yuzhong Liu, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Scripps Research
2024
Siyuan Ding, PhD
Assistant Professor of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University in St. Louis
2023
Claire Otero, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate in Pediatrics, Weill Cornell Medicine
2023
Dennis Schaefer-Babajew, PhD
Instructor in Clinical Investigation, The Rockefeller University
2023
Noam Auslander, PhD
Assistant Professor, The Wistar Institute
2022
Jenna Guthmiller, PhD
Assistant Professor, University of Colorado
2022
Romain Guyon, PhD Student
University of Oxford
2022
Brittany Hartwell, PhD
Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota
2022
Nicholas Wu, PhD
Assistant Professor, University of Illinois
2021
Rong Ma, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, Emory University
2021
Camila Consiglio, Phd
Postdoctoral Research, Karolinska Institutet
2021
Michael Birnbaum, PhD
Department of Medical Engineering, MIT
2020
Danika Hill, PhD
Monash University
2020
Kamal Mandal, PhD
University of California, San Francisco
2019
Murad Mamedov, PhD
University of California, San Francisco
2019
Avinash Das Sahu, PhD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
2019
Laura Mackay, PhD
The Peter Doherty Institute
2018
Ansuman Satpathy, MD, PhD
Stanford University School of Medicine
2018
Patricia Therese Illing, PhD
Monash University
2018
Learn more about the 2023 winners’ groundbreaking research:
Want more? Click here to explore the research of all the winners.
Across Sectors, Across Diseases
A rigorous and competitive international search will identify the most innovative projects from young scientists working across a broad range of scientific fields. Proposals will be reviewed by a distinguished committee of internationally-recognized scientists. The review committee will be looking for research that challenges dogma, from researchers who clearly articulate a vision that demonstrates an ability to look beyond convention to make a lasting impact on vaccine and immunotherapy research. We encourage applications from the full spectrum of scientific disciplines related to immunology, vaccine, and immunotherapy research, including but not limited to:
- Clinical Research
- Molecular Biology
- Computer science
- Biophysics
- Bioengineering
- Environmental Health
- Biochemistry
- Protein Engineering
- AI/Machine Learning
- Nanotechnology
- Microbiome
- Vector Biology
Ansuman Satpathy, MD, PhD, Stanford University:
The Michelson Prize was instrumental in my early career. It allowed me to pursue high-risk, high-impact ideas, which would not have been possible without the funding and scientific collaborations developed through the Human Immunome Project.
Eligibility and Application
Information for applicants
We are no longer accepting applications for the 2024 Michelson Prizes. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted by the end of October.
Applicants must be 35 or younger at the time of submission. Early career independent investigators, postdoctoral fellows, clinical fellows (including residents and interns), and other researchers currently in training positions are eligible for these awards. Applicants must be employed by, or affiliated with, an eligible organization (e.g., academia, biotechnology companies, foundations, government and non-governmental organizations, and research institutes).
Questions? Please review the Application Overview and the FAQs. Still have questions? Contact michelsonprizes@immunomeproject.org.
About the Donors
Dr. Gary K. Michelson is a Board Certified Orthopedic Spinal Surgeon with more than 900 issued patents worldwide. His work has revolutionized the practice of spinal surgery, making such procedures less invasive, less traumatic, safer, faster, and more effective. Alya Michelson is an accomplished journalist, who has written in, and been published in four different languages.
Together, the Michelsons support a broad array of philanthropic endeavors and operate three foundations that they founded and fund, including the Michelson Medical Research Foundation, 20MM, and Michelson Found Animals.
In addition to the Next Generation Grants, the Michelson Medical Research Foundation also sponsors the Michelson Philanthropies & Science Prize for Immunology: a $25,000 award for research that will have a significant development on vaccine and immunotherapy development.