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ASBMB Ruth Kirschstein Award for Maximizing Access in Science

Nominations for the 2026 ASBMB Annual Awards are closed.

The ASBMB Ruth Kirschstein Award for Maximizing Access in Science was established to honor an outstanding scientist who has shown evidence of a sustained commitment to breaking down local and/or systemic barriers against scientists and students from historically marginalized or excluded groups. The awardee should demonstrate a sustained commitment to the encouragement of scientists from historically marginalized or excluded groups to enter the scientific enterprise and/or to the effective mentorship of those within it. Both nominator and nominee must be ASBMB members.

Dr. Ruth Kirschstein was a pathologist and the first woman to be appointed director of an institute at the National Institutes of Health. She was committed to championing causes that nobody else would touch, including the emerging AIDS epidemic, for which she secured funding and mobilized a team of NIH researchers to further investigate the disease.

The award consists of a plaque, $3,000 and travel expenses to present a lecture at the ASBMB annual meeting. The recipient will be chosen by the ASBMB Maximizing Access Committee.