Julius Axelrod Award in Pharmacology

Deadline for submissions is September 15, 2010

AxelrodJThe Julius Axelrod Award in Pharmacology was established to honor the memory of the eminent American pharmacologist who shaped the fields of neuroscience, drug metabolism and biochemistry and who served as a mentor for numerous eminent pharmacologists around the world. The Julius Axelrod Award is presented annually for significant contributions to understanding the biochemical mechanisms underlying the pharmacological actions of drugs and for contributions to mentoring other pharmacologists.

The award consists of an honorarium of $5,000, a medal, hotel and economy airfare for the winner and spouse to the annual meeting. The formal presentation of this award and medal will be made at the annual meeting of ASPET. The recipient will be invited by the President of the Society to deliver the Julius Axelrod Lecture and organize the Julius Axelrod Symposium at the annual meeting a year hence. The recipient will also be invited by the Catecholamine Club to give a less formal presentation at its annual dinner meeting that year of the award.

There are no restrictions on nominees for this award. However, a nomination must be made by a member of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) or the Catecholamine Club. No member may nominate more than one candidate in a year, and no candidate may be nominated for more than one major ASPET award in any given year. The award shall be made on the basis of originality and uniqueness of accomplishments throughout a long career distinguished by sustained, significant contributions to research and mentoring in pharmacology. Selection of the recipient will be made by the Axelrod Award Committee, appointed by the President of ASPET and comprised of members of ASPET and the Catecholamine Club.

Nominations shall be submitted electronically to jane.nelson@aspet.org  and shall consist of:

  1. Letter of nomination describing the research and mentoring contributions to pharmacology of the candidate that make him/her eligible for this Award, listing major contributions.  Up to two additional letters of support would be welcome (need not be from ASPET members).
  2. Brief biographical sketch of the candidate.
  3. List of individuals mentored by the individual.  Up to two letters from former trainees describing the quality of their training with the nominee and its impact on their careers would be welcome (need not be from ASPET members).
  4. Candidate’s curriculum vitae and bibliography.

Receipt date for nominations for the Julius Axelrod Award will be 5:00 pm on September 15, 2010 for an award to be presented at Experimental Biology ’11 in Washington, DC.

Recipients of the Julius Axelrod Award


The Julius Axelrod Award was initiated in 1991 by the Catecholamine Club. ASPET assumed the award in 2007.

1991 Ullrich Trendelenberg

1992 Arvid Carlsson

1993 Norman Weiner

1994 Robert Furchgott

1995 Irvin Kopin

1998 Sidney Spector

1999 Solomon Snyder

2000 Erminio Costa

2001 Toshi Nagatsu

2002 Salomon Langer

2003 Richard Weinshilboum

2004 Richard Palmiter

2005 Marc Caron

2006 Susan Amara

2007 Tong H. Joh

2008 Randy D. Blakely

2009 Palmer W. Taylor

2010 Brian Kobilka




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Pharmacology is the science of drug action on biological systems. In its entirety, pharmacology embraces knowledge of the sources, chemical properties, biological effects and therapeutic uses of drugs. Learn more!