EJI Ita Askonas Prize awarded by EFIS

The prize was established by EFIS and the European Journal of Immunology (EJI) to acknowledge female group leaders in immunology who have run an independent laboratory for a minimum of four and no more than ten years.

This prize consists of a €20,000 cash award, plus support for travel, accommodations and registration to attend the European Congress of Immunology (ECI). The laureate must be prepared to present her work at the ECI.

Until 2021, the prize was awarded every three years. Beginning in 2023, the prize will be awarded annually and will be coordinated by the EFIS Task Force on Gender and Diversity, which will review the nomination packages and decide on the awardee.

The EFIS-EJI Ita Askonas Prize was first awarded in 2009. The Prize laureates since then are

  • 2021 - Christiane Opitz (Heidelberg, DE), nominated by the DGfI and awarded at Virtual ECI 2021
  • 2018 - Jenny Mjösberg (Stockholm, SE) and Prof. Anna Katherina (Katja) Simon (Oxford, UK), nominated, respectively, by the SSI and the DGFI and awarded ex aequo at ECI 2018 in Amsterdam
  • 2015 - Karin Tarte (Rennes, FR), nominated by the SFI and awarded at ECI 2015 in Vienna
  • 2012 - Francesca Granucci (Milan, IT), nominated by the SIICA and awarded at ECI 2012 in Glasgow
  • 2009 - Fiona Powrie (Oxford, UK), nominated by the BSI and awarded at ECI 2009 in Berlin

Award Outline

This award competition is open to female members of an EFIS-affilated National Society working in a European research institution who have run an independent laboratory for a minimum of four and no more than ten years. Candidates must have an outstanding track record of achievement in immunology.

Nominations must be submitted exclusively by an EFIS member society, which may submit up to three candidates. Nominations submitted independently without the endorsement of an EFIS member society will not be considered. Please submit the nomination package by e-mail to the email hidden; JavaScript is required and to the email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Nomination packages should include:

  1. A nomination letter of not more than three pages submitted and signed by the president of the member society indicating the nominee’s qualifications for the award. The letter should describe the nominee’s contributions to research;
  2. The nominee’s curriculum vitae;
  3. A list of publications with title and complete citations, and evaluated according to the citation report of the ISI Web of Science (number of citations, h-factor).
  4. A list of the ten most important publications.
A complete nomination package must be received by 1 June 2024.