The BSD's oldest and most prestigious lecture
The Howard Taylor Ricketts Prize is given annually in recognition of outstanding accomplishments in any area of biomedical and biological sciences. It was established by the Ricketts family in 1912 in honor of Howard Taylor Ricketts, a pathologist at the University of Chicago who discovered the cause of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
The prize is traditionally awarded after a public lecture on the University of Chicago campus in May of every year.
Past Lectures
Charles Zuker, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and of Neuroscience at Columbia University and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, gave the 109th annual Howard Taylor Ricketts lecture, The Body-Brain Axis, Tuesday, May 21, 2024.
Read more about the 109th lecture
View photos of the 2024 lecture below
Akiko Iwasaki, PhD, the Sterling Professor of Immunobiology and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, gave the 108th annual Howard Taylor Ricketts lecture on the Immunology of long Covid on Tuesday, May 30, 2023.
Read more about the 108th lecture
Molecular geneticist Helen Haskell Hobbs, MD, Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular Genetics, Chief of the Division of Medical Genetics, and Director of McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Texas, Southwestern, gave the 107th annual Howard Taylor Ricketts lecture, "Nature, Nurture, and Fatty Liver Disease," on Monday, May 2, 2022.
| Year | Award Recipient | Research |
|---|---|---|
| 1914 | Esmond Ray Long | On the Presence of Adenase in the Human Body; The Purines and Purine Metabolism of Some Tumors in Domestic Animals |
| 1914 | George Lester Kite | The Relative Permeability of the Surface Protoplasm of Animal and Plant Cells |
| 1914 | Julian Herman Lewis | Absorption of Substances Injected Subcutaneously and the Inhibitory Action of Heterologous Protein Mixtures on Anaphylaxis |
| 1915 | Maud Slye | The Influence of Inheritance on Spontaneous Cancer Formation in Mice |
| 1916 | Oscar Jacob Elsesser | The Action of Immune Sera on Vegetable Proteins with Special Reference to the Specificity of Abderhalden Reactions |
| 1917 | Enrique Eduardo Ecker | The Pathogenic Effect and Nature of a Toxin Produced by B. Paratyphosus B |
| 1918 | Harry Lee Huber | The Pharmacology and Toxicity of Copper Salts of Amino Acids |
| 1919 | Frederick William Mulsow | A Comparative Study of Bacillus Pullorum and Bacillus Sanguinarium |
| 1920 | Emanuel Bernard Fink | The Antigenic Properties of the Proteoses |
| 1921 | Ivan Clifford Hall | Studies in Anaerobes |
| 1922 | Louis Leiter | Observations on the Relation of Urea to Uremia |
| 1923 | Harry Montgomery Weeter | Infectious Abortion in Domestic Animals |
| 1923 | Lauretta Bender | Hematological Studies in Experimental Tuberculosis of the Guinea Pig |
| 1923 | Robb Spalding Spray | A Bacteriological Study of Pneumonias of Sheep |
| 1924 | Sara Elizabeth Branham | I. The Toxic Products of Bacillus Enteritidis II. The Production of Lung Hemorrhages and Associated Phenomena in Rabbits and Guinea Pigs |
| 1925 | Florence Barbara Seibert | The Cause of Febrile Reactions Following Intravenous Injection |
| 1926 | Gail Monroe Dack | Studies on Clostridium Botulinum |
| 1927 | Casper Irving Nelson | The Intracellular Properties of the Proteins Of Bacteria |
| 1928 | George William Bachman | A Precipitin Test in Experimental Trichiniasis |
| 1928 | James Roy Blayney | Tissue Reaction in the Apical Region to Known Types of Treatment |
| 1929 | George William Stuppy | The Production and Prevention of Pneumonia and Other Pneumococcus Infections: Experiments on The Rabbit and on Monkeys (macacus Rhesus And Cebus Capucinus) |
| 1930 | Arthur John Vorwald | The Cellular Reaction to Infection with Tubercule Bacilli in Animals of Varying Resistance |
| 1931 | Guillermo Alfredo Pacheco | Tissue Immunity |
| 1932 | William Burrows | The Nutritional Requirements of Clostridium Botulinum |
| 1933 | James Alexander Harrison | Absorptions of Poliomyelitis Virus and Antibody Acids on Aluminum Hydroxide Gel |
| 1933 | Oram Clark Woolpert | Direct Bacteriological Experimentation on the Living Mammalian Fetus |
| 1934 | Thomas Christman Grubb | Studies on the Coccus Forms of Corynebacterium Diptheriae |
| 1934 | Paul Eby Steiner | The Role of the Avian Tubercule Bacillus in the Etiology of Hodgkins’ Disease |
| 1935 | Sion Woodson Holley | The Corneal Reactions of Normal and of Tuberculosis Guinea Pigs in the Tuberculo-protein and Tuberculo-phosphatide |
| 1935 | Floyd Stephen Markham | A Study of the Submaxillary Gland Virus of Guinea Pigs |
| 1936 | Dan Hampton Campbell | Study on an Antigenic Polysaccharide Fraction of Ascaris Lumbricoides (from Pig) |
| 1936 | John Perrigo Fox | Studies of the Localization and Concentration of Blood Borne Antibodies and Colloidal Dye in Areas of Inflammation of Various Ages and on the Permeability of the Lungs to Antibodies |
| 1937 | Winton Elizabeth Gambrell | Experimental Studies on Variations in Gametocyte Production in Avian Malaria |
| 1938 | John Marshall Weir | The Vascular Processes in the Schwartzman Phenomenon as Observed in Pulmonary Reactions |
| 1939 | George Hartley, Jr. | The Local Formation of Anti-vaccinial Antibodies by the Skin |
| 1940 | Harold Rawson Reames | Pathogenesis and Immunity in Ectromelia Virus Infection of the Nasal Mucosa of the Rat |
| 1941 | George Green Wright | The Antigenic Relationship Between Horse Antibodies and the Proteins of Normal Horse Serum |
| 1942 | José Oliver-Gonzales | The Dual Antibody Basis of the Acquired Immunity in Trichinosis |
| 1943 | Howard Carl Hopps | Allergy as a Factor in Wound Disruption and Delayed Wound Healing |
| 1943 | Leo Robert Melcher | An Antigenic Analysis of Trichinella Spiralis |
| 1944 | Paul Everett Thompson | Studies in Saurian Malaria with Special Reference to Plasmodium Mexicanum, n.sp. |
| 1945 | Maurice Ralph Hilleman | Immunological Studies on the Psittacosis-lymphogranuloma Group of Viral Agents |
| 1946 | Preston Ershell Harrison | A Study of the Effect of Chemotherapeutic Agents on the Development of the Immunity to Experimental Pneumococcus Infection and the Relation of the Immune Mechanism to Bacterial Chemotherapy |
| 1947 | Robert William Wissler | The Effects of Protein-depletion and Subsequent Immunization Upon the Response of Experimental Animals to Intradermal Pneumococcal Infection |
| 1947 | Ned Blanchard Williams | Studies on Immunological Reactions of Oral Lactobacilli |
| 1948 |
No Award Given |
|
| 1949 | Ludvig Hektoen And Russell Morse Wilder | The Rickettsial Diseases: Discovery and Conquest |
| 1950 | Simeon Burt Wolbach | Rickettsial Diseases |
| 1951 | Herald Rea Cox | Recent Advances and Current Problems in the Field of Rickettsial Disease |
| 1952 | Thomas Francis, Jr. | The Significance of Variation Among Influenza Viruses |
| 1953 | Joseph Edwin Smadel | Influence of Antibodies on the Immunological Responses in Scrub Typhus |
| 1954 | John Rodman Paul | The Past and Present History of Infectious Hepatitis |
| 1955 | Ernest William Goodpasture | Host Cell Responses to Viral Mutants |
| 1956 | John Clifford Bugher | Changing Patterns in Public Health |
| 1957 | Jonas Edward Salk | Poliomyelitis – From the Perspective of Biology |
| 1958 | René Jules Dubos | Nutrition, Emotion and Infections |
| 1959 | Albert Bruce Sabin | Oral Immunization Against Poliomyelitis with Live Attenuated Polioviruses – Development Problems, Present Status and Future Possibilities |
| 1960 | Karl Friederich Meyer | Plague in the Light of Newer Knowledge |
| 1961 | Seymour Benzer | Genetic Fine Structure |
| 1962 | John Franklin Enders | Recent Observations on Reactions of Cells in Culture to Viral Infection |
| 1963 | Richard Edwin Shope | The Epidemiology of the Origin and Perpetuation of a New Disease |
| 1964 | Sir Christopher Howard Andrewes | Viruses and Noah’s Ark |
| 1965 | Renato Dulbecco | Viruses and Control Mechanisms in Animal Cells |
| 1966 | Charles Yanofsky | Gene Structure and Protein Structure |
| 1967 | Jerome W. Conn | Primary Aldosteronism (Hypokalemic and Normokalemic), a Cause of Curable Hypertension |
| 1968 | Robert J. Huebner | Cancer as an Infectious Disease |
| 1969 | Carroll M. Williams | Genes, Hormones, and Metamorphosis |
| 1970 | Robert A. Good | Experiments of Nature in Immunobiology |
| 1971 | Solomon A. Berson And Rosalyn S. Yalow | Scope and Applications of Radioimmunoassay with Special Reference to Heterogeneity of Peptide Hormones |
| 1972 | Wilhelm Bernhard | Structural and Functional Correlations in Normal and Cancer Cells |
| 1973 | Robert M. Chanock | Genetic Manipulation of Viruses and Mycoplasmas with the Aim of Preventing Acute Respiratory Tract Disease |
| 1974 | Wallace P. Rowe | Viruses as Genes in Mammalian Cells |
| 1975 | John A. Clements | Pulmonary Surfactant in Health and Disease |
| 1976 | Maurice Green | Adenoviruses – Model Systems of Virus Replication, Human Cell Molecular Biology, and Neoplastic Transformation |
| 1977 | David S. Hogness | The Arrangement of Genes in Drosophila as Studied by Recombinant DNA |
| 1978 | Purnell W. Choppin | Structure and Function of Paramyxovirus and Myxovirus Membranes |
| 1979 | James Darnell, Jr. | Transcription and Processing of Nuclear RNA: Implications for Gene Regulation |
| 1980 | Leroy E. Hood | Antibodies: Split Genes and Jumping Genes |
| 1981 | Hidesaburo Hanafusa | Virus-induced Cell Transformation: Expression of Cellular Genes |
| 1982 | George Streisinger | A New Approach to Vertebrate Developmental Genetics: Experiments with Zebrafish |
| 1983 | Maurice R. Hilleman | Immunologic Prevention of Human Hepatitis |
| 1984 | Robert A. Weinberg | Human Tumor Oncogenes |
| 1985 | Phillip A. Sharp | RNA Splicing and Introns |
| 1986 | Marc W. Kirschner | Microtubules and Morphogenesis |
| 1987 | Michael G. Rossmann | Neutralizing Common Cold and Other Picornaviruses with Antibodies And Antiviral Drugs |
| 1988 | Mark M. Davis | T Cell Receptor Genes and T Cell Recognition |
| 1989 | Piet Borst | The Mechanism of Antigenic Variation in African Trypanosomes |
| 1990 | Nina V. Fedoroff | Jumping Genes in Corn Plants |
| 1991 | Peter K. Vogt | From Transcription Factor to Oncoprotein: The Story of Jun |
| 1992 | Ira Herskowitz | Control of the Cell Cycle and Cell Polarity in Yeast |
| 1993 | Gerald M. Rubin | Signal Transduction During Drosophila Eye Development |
| 1994 | Bert Vogelstein | Genetic Basis of a Common Human Cancer |
| 1995 | Stanley Falkow | The Molecular and Genetic Basis of Bacterial Pathogenicity |
| 1996 | Elliott Kieff | Seizing Control of Cell Growth: How an Oncogenic Human Virus Does It |
| 1997 | Barry R. Bloom | Protection and Pathogenesis in Tuberculosis: Paradigm of a Global Health Problem |
| 1998 | Anthony S. Fauci | Host Factors in the Pathogenesis of HIV Disease |
| 1999 | Philippa Marrack | Oxygen, the Oldest Executioner of All |
| 2000 | Thomas D. Pollard | Cellular Motility Powered by Assembly and Disassembly of Actin Filaments |
| 2001 | John Collinge | The Human Prion Diseases and BSE: Molecular Biology and Risks to Public Health |
| 2002 | Joan Massagué | The TGF-Beta Signaling Pathway in Development and Disease |
| 2003 | Thomas E. Wellems | Chloroquine-Resistant Malaria: Its History, Burden, and Scientific Challenge |
| 2004 | Joan Argetsinger Steitz | Viral SnRNPs: Avengers or Evaders? |
| 2005 | Peter Palese | Influenza: Old and New Threats |
| 2006 | Douglas A. Melton | Stem Cells for Tissue Formation and Repair |
| 2007 | Anthony J. Pawson | Protein Interaction Domains in Cell Signaling and Disease |
| 2008 | Ruslan Medzhitov | Innate Immune System |
| 2009 | Huda Zoghbi | Insight about Neuropsychiatric Disorders from the Study Of Rett Syndrome and MeCP2 |
| 2010 | Alan Cowman | Moving House and Renovating: Erythrocyte Invasion and Survival of the Malarial Parasite in the Human Host |
| 2011 | C. David Allis | Beyond the Double Helix: Varying the Histone Code |
| 2012 | Don W. Cleveland | From Charcot to Lou Gehrig: Mechanisms and Therapy in ALS and Beyond |
| 2013 | Susan Lindquist | The Wonderful New World of Prion Biology |
| 2014 | Jeffrey I. Gordon | Dining in with Trillions of Fascinating Friends: Establishing Causal Relationships between Our Gut Microbiomes and Nutritional Status |
| 2015 | Bonnie L. Bassler | Manipulating Quorum Sensing to Control Bacterial Pathogenicity |
| 2016 | Peter Donnelly | Meiosis, Recombination and the Origin of a Species |
| 2017 | Elaine Fuchs | Stem Cells in Silence, Action and Cancer |
| 2018 | Robert G. Roeder | Transcriptional Regulatory Mechanisms in Animal Cells |
| 2019 | Michael N. Hall |
mTOR Signaling in Growth and Metabolism |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic | |
| 2021 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic |
Nominate a Speaker
Nominations may be submitted at any point throughout the year.
- Nominations are accepted from members of the UChicago community and beyond. Nominations by those at external institutions are highly encouraged. Nominees should be external to the University.
- Historically, this prize has been awarded to distinguished scientists in numerous biomedical and biological disciplines, including cell and molecular biology, microbiology, immunology, neuroscience, and genetics. We encourage nominations from different fields which may be of broad interest to the BSD.
- Please nominate speakers whose scientific accomplishments are of exceptional quality, who are highly engaging and interactive, and who inspire you. Speakers may be from academia, industry, or other relevant institutions and we encourage you to consider speakers across all demographics.
- The awardee will receive a cash award of $50,000 and a medal, after a public lecture (each year in May) on the University of Chicago campus.
Nominations should include a full curriculum vitae of the candidate as well as a brief (200–500 word) statement of the candidate's contributions and impact in any area of biomedical and biological sciences. We will consider all nominees who have made transformative contributions to their field, independent of career stage.
Submit a nomination through the online form here. To submit more than one nomination, please submit a separate entry using the web form.
About Dr. Howard Taylor Ricketts
The lecture series is named after Dr. Howard Taylor Ricketts, who was an Assistant Professor in Pathology at UChicago from 1902 to 1910. He was the first person to describe the tick-borne pathogen that causes Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, as well as the related organism that causes typhus fever.
While researching typhus fever in Mexico City, he contracted the disease and died at the age of 38. As a memorial to her husband, Myra Tubbs Ricketts in 1912 donated $5,000 to the University. She stipulated that the income from the endowment was to go to providing an annual prize—the Howard Taylor Ricketts Prize—for "the student presenting the best results of research in Pathology or Bacteriology." The Ricketts family has supported the award ever since.
Today, the Howard Taylor Ricketts Laboratory (HTRL), located on the campus of Argonne National Laboratory, is one of 13 Regional Biocontainment facilities located throughout the United States constructed by partnerships between the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and local academic institutions.
Visit the UChicago Library exhibitions to learn more about Dr. Ricketts and his work.