Awards

Google Form for ASP 2026 Award Nominations
https://forms.gle/7gU6pwikwAqsm7aaA

(Revised August 2025)

AWARDS COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PHOTOBIOLOGY

(ASP AWARDS COMMITTEE)

Revised: March 19, 2025

Approved by the Executive Committee: May 8, 2025, and August 14, 2025

SECTION I. LIST OF AWARDS, AWARD REQUIREMENTS, SELECTION PROCESS

SECTION I.A. AWARDS UNDER THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AWARDS COMMITTEE:

1. ASP Light Path Award
2. ASP Research Award
3. ASP New Investigator Award
4. ASP Editor’s Student Research Award
5. ASP Urbach Travel Award

SECTION I.B. ADDITIONAL AWARDS (NOT UNDER THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AWARDS COMMITTEE)

1. ASP Lifetime Achievement Award
2. ASP Photon Award
3. ASP Photocite Awards A and B

SECTION I.C. SELECTION PROCESS

(adapted from ASP Website, (photobiology.org/?page_id=98)

SECTION I.A. AWARDS UNDER THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AWARDS COMMITTEE

1. ASP Light Path Award

Honors a researcher with substantial and innovative contributions to the fusion of photobiology with other disciplines, thus broadening the frontiers of photobiology.

The award is a personalized plaque.

The Awards Committee is charged with selection of the recipient based on nominations by the Committee and by ASP members and on the criteria below:

1. The candidate may be self-nominated or nominated by another member of the ASP.
2. The recipient must have a current ASP membership at the time of the nomination.

Nomination Package:

1. A letter of support by an ASP member describing the candidate and major accomplishments that justify consideration for this award.
2. An updated CV of the candidate.

2. ASP Research Award

Recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions with major impact in the fields of photomedicine, photobiology, photochemistry, and/or photophysics.

The award is $1,000.00 plus travel (total $1500.00) and a plaque.

The Awards Committee is charged with selection of the recipient based on nominations by the Committee and by ASP members and on the criteria below:

1. The candidate must have made major research contributions to photobiology.
2. The candidate must have at least 10 years of post-graduate (PhD or MD) research.
3. For equivalent candidates, preference is given to the candidate who has contributed most to the ASP (e.g., publications in Photochemistry and Photobiology, meeting attendance, service on committees).
4. The nominator must be an ASP member.
5. The recipient must be an ASP member at the time of the nomination.
6. The recipient will be expected to present an award lecture at the ASP Biennial meeting (and will be notified of the award in time to make appropriate travel plans).

Nomination Package:

1. A signed nomination letter by an ASP member describing the candidate and major accomplishments that justify consideration for this award
2. An updated CV of the candidate,
3. Up to two additional letters emphasizing the impact of the candidate’s research.
4. The nomination package will stand for three years and can be updated yearly by the nominator. After three years, a new nomination package must be submitted.

3. ASP New Investigator Award

Recognizes promising quality research in the fields of photomedicine, photobiology, photochemistry, and/or photophysics performed at a relatively early stage in an investigator’s career.

The award is $1,000.00 plus travel (total $1500.00) and a plaque.

The Awards Committee is charged with selection of the recipient based on nominations by the Committee and by ASP members and on the criteria below:

1. The candidate should typically be nominated within the first ten years of obtaining the terminal academic degree. In exceptional cases, senior scientists new to the photosciences will be considered.
2. The nominator must be an ASP member.
3. The recipient must be an ASP member at the time of the nomination.
4. Prior service to ASP is not necessarily a qualification for this award but can be taken into account.
5. The recipient will be expected to present an award lecture at the ASP Biennial meeting.

Nomination Package:

1. A signed nomination letter by an ASP member describing the candidate and major accomplishments that justify consideration for this award. Group/joint nomination letters are acceptable. The nomination letter should address research accomplishments and likelihood of continued excellence of the candidate
2. An updated CV of the candidate

4. ASP Editor’s Student Research Award

Honors an individual who has published outstanding research as a first author in Photochemistry and Photobiology (P&P), the official journal of ASP, within three years of being nominated for the award.

The Award is $600.00 towards travel expenses to the ASP Biennial meeting and a Plaque.

The Awards Committee is charged with selection of the recipient based on nominations by the Committee and by ASP members and on the criteria below:

1. The candidate may be self-nominated or nominated by another member of the ASP.
2. The candidate must have been a graduate or undergraduate student at the time of submission of the article.
3. The candidate must be an ASP member at the time of the nomination.

Nomination Package:

1. A PDF file of research paper published in P&P indicating first authorship
2. A brief letter of support written by the research advisor detailing the research contributions the applicant made as a graduate/undergraduate student.
3. Documentation of student status at the time the original manuscript was submitted to P&P. This can be in the form of a school transcript, school ID or verification of student status in the letter of support from the research advisor.
4. An updated CV of the candidate

5. ASP Urbach Travel Award

Established in memory of Fred Urbach, ASP past-President. The award is intended to assist ASP Associate Members with travel expenses in order to present a poster or talk of their work at the ASP meetings.

The award will consist of a cash award determined by the availability of funds and the number of applications.

The Awards Committee is charged with determining the candidates who meet the requirements below for the Urbach Travel Award:

1. A letter of support from the advisor on signed letterhead
   1. The letter should include the following items:
      1. Attestation that the candidate is in good standing in the advisor’s group
      2. Support from the advisor for the candidate to attend, and present a poster or talk of their work at, the ASP meeting
      3. A brief statement describing the relevance to photobiology of the candidate’s work and the benefit to the candidate to attend the ASP meeting
   2. PDF is the preferred format for the letter
2. The advisor must be an ASP member in good standing.
3. The candidate must be an ASP Associate Member in good standing at the time of the nomination.

SECTION I.B. ADDITIONAL AWARDS

(NOT UNDER THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AWARDS COMMITTEE)

1. ASP Lifetime Achievement Award

Recognizes the illustrious career of a senior researcher whose work has significantly advanced any of the research areas encompassed by the ASP.

The Award should only be given when a suitable candidate is agreed upon by the ASP Awards Committee and is not necessarily given every year. A suitable candidate is one who has devoted substantial time and effort on behalf of ASP over an extended period of time (i.e. greater than 10 years). The award should consist of:

1. A framed certificate
2. A suitable gift ($300-$500 value such as a sundial or kaleidoscope).
3. A plaque with the recipient’s name, name of the award, year of the award, and the words “On behalf of the Membership of the American Society for Photobiology,” and the ASP logo.

The past‑President, President, and President-elect can nominate candidates for consideration by the ASP Council. The ASP President will select the recipient from the candidates supported by ASP Council, and notify the Awards Committee of the final decision.

2. ASP Photon Award

Established to honor members who have made exceptional contributions and who have served the ASP above and beyond the call of duty. These contributions include service on the ASP Council or as an Officer, contributions to the ASP’s publication efforts, or any other service to the ASP deemed exemplary by members of the Council.

The award can be a plaque or statue (such as of the sun god “Ra”), and is to be awarded on an ad hoc basis. At the Winter Council meeting, the past-President, current President, and President-elect, together with Council members, will identify and discuss deserving candidates for this Award. The ASP President will select the recipient, and notify the Awards Committee of the final decision.

3. ASP Photocite Awards A and B

Both awards are selected by the Editor-in-Chief of Photochemistry and Photobiology (P&P) and reported to the ASP Council for final approval.

The Photocite A award is presented to the author(s) of an original research article in P&P published within four years of the award that has received the most hetero-citations (citations by others) during that period. 

The Photocite B award is presented to the author(s) of a review article in P&P published within the same four-year period that has received the most hetero-citations during that period. 

The award is a personalized plaque. The recipients will be determined using citation data from the Journal Website and Wiley Journal Insights (WJI).

SECTION I.C. SELECTION PROCESS

1. Applications will be solicited for each Award Category listed in Sections I.A. and I.B.
2. Submission deadline for all applications will be 4–12 months prior to the ASP meeting.
3. Applications will be assembled by the Chair and distributed to the committee.
4. Each committee member will also receive a corresponding scoresheet for each award category to rank candidates (example below).

SCORE SHEET	CANDIDATE NAME	Rank (1 as best)
ASP NEW INVESTIGATOR AWARD

5. Three weeks after receipt of the application package, committee members will send ranks to the chair.
6. The scores will be anonymized and a composite score sheet for each award category will be created showing the aggregate scores for each candidate. These ranks will be communicated back to the committee.
7. Categories without a clear winner based on aggregate scores will be discussed by the committee via web-conference to decide on a sole or joint prize.
8. The results of the selection process will be communicated to the President and Executive Committee 4-6 month prior to the meeting for approval.
9. Official notifications and conference invitations will be sent to the winners by the President and Awards Committee chair.

SECTION II. COMPOSITION AND SERVICE OF THE AWARDS COMMITTEE

SECTION II.A. SELECTION OF STANDING MEMBERS

The standing members are five (5) ex officio members who have designated roles in the ASP organization. To ensure continuity in tradition, the standing members have a four-year term, thus serve in two consecutive rounds of award selection for ASP.

1. Current chair of the awards committee
2. Editor-in-Chief of Photochemistry and Photobiology
3. Current President of ASP
4. Immediate past President of ASP
5. President-elect of ASP

SECTION II.B SELECTION OF ROTATING MEMBERS (up to 10):

1. A rotating member must be a current ASP member with an active and repuatable research/education program.
2. The rotating memberhip shall reflect diversity in career stages, scientific disciplines, geological locations as well as underrepresented groups.
3. Upon recommendation of the standing members, the rotating members will be invited by the Award Committee Chair, and officially become a committee member upon acceptance.
4. The rotating members have a two-year term, and serve in one selection process for ASP. The rotating membership may be extended.

SECTION III. MEMBERS (Standing members* and proposed rotating members)

1. Xiaojing Yang (Current Committee Chair*)

Professor

Department of Chemistry

University of Illinois at Chicago

845 West Taylor Street

Chicago, IL 60607

Email: xiaojing@uic.edu

Website: https://yang.lab.uic.edu/

Phone: (312) 413-9406

Expertise: Structural biology, Photoreceptor Structure and Function, Light Signaling

2. Alexander Greer (Editor-in-Chief of Photochemistry and Photobiology*)

Professor

Department of Chemistry
The City University of New York

Brooklyn College

Brooklyn, New York 11210

Email. agreer@brooklyn.cuny.edu

Website: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/chem/agreer

Phone: (718) 951-5000

Expertise: Organic photochemistry, Photosensitization, Point-source photodynamic therapy, reactive oxygen species

3. Sherri McFarland (ASP President*)

Professor

The University of Texas at Arlington

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
700 Planetarium Place, Room 130
Arlington, Texas 76019-0065

 
Email: sherri.mcfarland@uta.edu
Web: https://www.uta.edu/chemistry/faculty/sherri_mcfarland.php

Phone (817) 272-6068

Expertise: Medicinal Inorganic Chemistry, Chemical Biology, Photophysics, Photodynamic Therapy

4. Shiyong Wu (ASP Immediate Past President*)

Professor

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Ohio University

Athens, Ohio 45701

Email. wus1@ohio.edu

Website: https://www.ohio.edu/cas/labs/wu-lab

Phone: (718) 951-5000

Expertise: DNA damage, Photopigmentation, Skin Cancer, Carcinogenesis, Signaling

5. Ryan McCulla (ASP President Elect*)

Associate Professor

Department of Chemistry

Saint Louis University

3501 Laclede Ave., Room 203
St. Louis, Mo 63103

Email: ryan.mcculla@slu.edu
Website: https://www.mcculla.org/

Phone: 314-977-2838

Expertise: Dual-Release Photochemistry, Photdeoygenation and applications of atomic oxygen

6. Yu-Ying He

Professor

Section of Dermatology, Department of Medicine

Cancer Research Center

The University of Chicago

5841 South Maryland Ave.

Chicago, Illinois 60637

Email: yyhe@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu

Website: https://biomedsciences.uchicago.edu/page/yu-ying-he-phd

Phone: (773) 702-0715

Expertise: Skin Cancer Research, DNA Damage Response, DNA Repair

7. Wolfgang Gartner

Professor

Analytische Chemie, University of Leipzig

Linnéstr. 3, 04103 Leipzig

Email: wolfgang.gaertner@uni-leipzig.de

Expertise: Photoreceptor, structure and function, optogenetics, spectroscopy

8. Wendy M Schluchter

Professor and Chair

Dept. of Biological Sciences

The University of New Orleans

Computer Center, Room 200
2000 Lakeshore Drive
New Orleans, LA 70148

Email: wschluch@uno.edu
Website:  https://www.uno.edu/profile/faculty/wendy_schluchter

Phone: (504) 280-7194

Expertise: Photosynthesis, Biosynthesis of light-harvesting proteins

9. Huang-Chiao (Joe) Huang

Associate Professor

Fischell Department of Bioengineering

University of Maryland

4118 A. James Clark Hall
College Park, MD 20742

Email: hchuang@umd.edu
Website: https://umdhuanglab.weebly.com

Phone: (301) 405-6961

Expertise: Photoactivatable nanoparticles, Nanotechnology-enabled Drug Delivery, Photodynamic Therapy

10. Igor Schapiro

Associate Professor

Institute of Chemistry

Fritz Haber Center for Molecular Dynamics

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Isreal

Email: Igor.Schapiro@mail.huji.ac.il
Website: web: https://scholars.huji.ac.il/igorschapiro

Phone: +972 2 658 5269 

Expertise: Computational Photobiology, Molecular Dynamics of Photochemical Systems

11. Wenfang Sun (Committee Co-Chair)

Professor

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

The University of Alabama

3068 Shelby Hall

Email. wsun15@ua.edu

Research website: https://chemistry.ua.edu/people/wenfang-sun/

Phone: 205-348-5807

Expertise: photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, near-infrared emissive metal-organic complexes, bioimaging, biosensor

12. Masaoki Kawasumi

Associate Professor

Department of Dermatology

The Ohio State University College of Medicine

410 W 12th Ave

CCC/Wiseman, Rm 351B (Lab), Rm 302C (Office)

Columbus, OH 43210

Email. Masaoki.Kawasumi@osumc.edu

Phone: 206-693-9951

Expertise: UV-induced DNA damage responses, skin cancer biology, epigenome editing, skin cancer prevention