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AAI-Waters Biosciences Investigator Award

  2025 Nominations Are Open August 6—September 18, 2024

  2027 Nominations Open August 1, 2026 and Close September 15, 2026

This award recognizes an early-career investigator who has made outstanding contributions to the field of immunology.  This award is generously supported by Waters^™ Biosciences.

The awardee will receive a $5,000 cash prize, complimentary meeting registration, and travel support to the AAI annual meeting for presentation of their research in an award lecture preceded by the award presentation.

Eligibility

At the time of nomination, a nominee must:

1. Be a Regular AAI member in good standing*, and
2. Have started their first independent position at least 5 years ago and no more than 10 years ago (for 2027 eligibility, the first independent position must have begun between September 15, 2016, and September 15, 2021).^† The beginning of independence should be clearly indicated in the nomination package.

Candidates must be nominated by Regular AAI members in good standing.* Members may not nominate themselves. Members of the AAI Council and Awards Committee are not eligible to nominate or recommend candidates, nor may they be nominated themselves

Posthumous awards will not be considered.

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* Member dues paid through January 1, 2027.

† This award is intended for an early career researcher within 5-10 years of their first independent position. It is, however, recognized that there may have been family-related, personal, or other circumstances resulting in extended time out of the laboratory. Exceptions to the stated time limits will be considered based on a description of any special circumstances. Please email awards@aai.org with inquiries.

Nomination Instructions

Please submit your award application by logging into your AAI member account at . Select “Awards” from the left-hand menu, and then click on “Make Nomination” for the relevant award. Self-nominations will not be accepted. All documents should be uploaded as a single combined PDF file no larger than 5 MB.

Please include the following in the nomination package:

1. One (1) nomination letter, not to exceed three (3) pages, signed and submitted by a Regular AAI member in good standing, indicating the nominee’s qualifications for the award. The letter should describe the nominee’s major contributions to the field of immunology. The nomination letter must be from one individual and not include multiple endorsements within it. It should reflect the observations and opinions of the author. Please refrain from extensive reliance on quotations and observations of others.
2. One (1) additional letter of recommendation, not to exceed three (3) pages, from one individual and not including multiple endorsements within it. This letter must be signed and included in the package.
3. The nominee’s biosketch (NIH format).

Nominations will be accepted beginning August 1, 2026. Complete nomination forms and their combined PDF files must be received by 8:00 PM (Eastern) on September 15, 2026. Packages must be submitted as a single combined PDF file via your AAI member profile. Incomplete nomination packages or nominations that do not comply with the stated instructions will not be considered. AAI will not accept materials sent separately, or through email or regular mail. Final award decisions are at the discretion of AAI.

AAI reserves the right to limit the number of nominations considered for any one candidate. In most cases, no more than two will be accepted, in order of their receipt. Please direct inquiries to awards@aai.org.