ASHG 2020 Awards Presentations 

The William Allan Award is the top prize given by the American Society of Human Genetics. It was established in 1961 in memory of William Allan (1881-1943), who was one of the first American physicians to conduct extensive research in human genetics. The Allan Award is presented annually to recognize substantial and far-reaching scientific contributions to human genetics, carried out over a sustained period of scientific inquiry and productivity.

Evan Eichler, PhD, introduces the 2020 William Allan Award recipient, Mary-Claire King, PhD. Dr. King's talk begins at 7:15.

The McKusick Leadership Award was established by ASHG to honor Dr. Victor A. McKusick and is bestowed upon an individual who has exhibited exemplary leadership and vision in advancing the ASHG mission through the promotion and successful assimilation of genetics and genomics knowledge into the broader scientific community in areas ranging from science, medicine, public policy, and/or health.

Robin Bennett, MS, CGC, introduces the 2020 Victor A. McKusick Leadership Award recipient, Peter H. Byers, MD. Dr. Byer’s talk begins at 4:15.

The Curt Stern Award honors the memory of Curt Stern as an outstanding pioneering human geneticist. This award is for remarkable scientific achievements in human genetics that have occurred during the last 10 years. The work could be a single major discovery or maybe a series of contributions on a similar or related topic.

Cynthia Morton, PhD, introduces the 2020 ASHG Mentorship Award recipient, Fowzan Alkuraya, MD. Dr. Alkuraya's talk begins at 12:10.

The ASHG Advocacy Award honors individuals who have exhibited excellence and achievement in promoting the science of human genetics and its application for the common good.

Dana Crawford, PhD, introduces the 2020 ASHG Advocacy Award recipient, Janina Jeff, PhD, MS. Dr. Jeff’s talk begins at 5:03.

The Arno Motulsky-Barton Childs Award for Excellence in Human Genetics Education recognizes outstanding contributions to human genetics education of exceptional quality and great importance to the field.

Michael Boehnke, PhD, introduces the 2020 ASHG Education Award recipient, Kenneth Lange, PhD. Dr. Lange’s talk begins at 3:50.

The ASHG Mentorship Award honors ASHG members who have significant records of accomplishment as mentors and a sustained pattern of exemplary mentorship.

Audrey Hendricks, PhD, introduces the 2020 ASHG Mentorship Award recipient, Josée Dupuis, PhD. Dr. Dupuis' talk begins at 3:03.

The Early-Career Award recognizes scientists who are in the early stages of their careers as independent investigators and the work submitted for consideration must have been primarily the product of the candidate’s independent lab. 

Mark Daly, PhD, introduces the 2020 Early Career Award recipient, Benjamin Neale, PhD. Dr. Neale's talk begins at 4:58.

The FASEB Excellence in Science Award is given in recognition of outstanding achievement by women in biological science. Recipients are women whose career achievements have contributed significantly to further our understanding of a particular discipline by excellence in research.

The 2020 FASEB Excellence in Science Award recipient is Aviv Regev, PhD.