ASMS Announces 2025 Award Winners

The American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) has announced its 2025 award winners. Each year, ASMS presents awards to researchers who have made significant contributions to the field of MS. Below is an overview of the 2025 award winners, who will be presented with their award during the 2025 conference in Baltimore, Maryland from June 1 to June 5.

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The John B. Fenn Award for a Distinguished Contribution in Mass Spectrometry recognizes a focused or singular achievement in MS (1). This year’s recipient is Jack Henion, emeritus professor of toxicology at Cornell University. During his tenure, Henion conducted pioneering research and explored applications in multiple areas of liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS), notably employing atmospheric pressure ionization (API) sources (1). He has published more than 235 peer-reviewed papers, trained nearly 100 students, post-doctoral scientists, and trainees, and received 12 patents for inventions arising from his work. This award recognizes his achievement in the conception, development, and application of pneumatically assisted electrospray ionization. Alongside the recognition, the award comes with $10,000, a recognition plaque, and a chance to present an award lecture at the ASMS Annual Conference.

The ASMS Biemann Medal is awarded to an individual early in their career, recognizing their significant achievements in basic or applied MS. Livia Schiavinato Eberlin is the 2025 recipient of the Biemann Medal, recognizing her work that has advanced MS in biomedical research (2). Eberlin has authored more than 95 scientific manuscripts and has received numerous prestigious honors, including a MacArthur Fellowship. Her innovative research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), and a range of industry and foundation grants. Additionally, Eberlin served as the ASMS Board Member-at-Large for Education, from 2022–2024. Her key contributions to MS include the early development and application of MS imaging for tissue analysis and cancer diagnosis.

There are also awards that honor the work of multiple researchers. One example is the Al Yergey MS Scientist Award. Named after Al Yergey, a well-renowned scientist who served 45 years at National Institutes of Health where he was known as a dedicated mentor (3). This award recognizes dedication and significant contributions to MS-based science by who the organization calls “unsung heroes” (3). Up to three awards (alongside $1000 each and an honorary plaque) are awarded, alongside a presentation at the ASMS Annual Conference. This year’s winners are Vilmos Kertesz of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Michael Shortreed of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and John E. P. Syka of Thermo Fisher Scientific.

In addition to the individual awards, three annual research awards are presented at the conference to promote the work of academic scientists within the first four years of joining the tenure track or research faculty of a North American University at the time the award is conferred (4). The awards, in the amount of $35,000 each, are presented each year and fully funded by Bruker, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Waters Corporation. The three awardees this year, are Tian (Autumn) Qiu of Michigan State University, Qing Yu of the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, and Varun Gadkari of the University of Minnesota. The award money will be made out to the winners’ university in the name of the selected individual for the researcher’s exclusive use.

Additionally, the society provides awards to honor the work of undergraduate and graduate students (5). The ASMS Undergraduate Awards recognize undergraduate students whose academic achievements and interest in MS research display high levels of excellence and distinction. Up to 10 awards of $500 each, in addition to conference registration, are conferred annually. For the Graduate Student Awards, up to twenty awards for up to $1000 each, in addition to free conference registration, are conferred annually.

References

(1) John B. Fenn Distinguished Contribution. ASMS 2025. https://www.asms.org/about-asms-awards/distinguished-contribution (accessed 2025-4-11)

(2) Biemann Medal. ASMS 2025. https://www.asms.org/about-asms-awards/biemann-medal (accessed 2025-4-11)

(3) Al Yergey MS Scientist Award. ASMS 2025. https://www.asms.org/about-asms-awards/al-yergey-outstanding-ms-scientist (accessed 2025-4-11)

(4) Research Awards. ASMS 2025. https://www.asms.org/about-asms-awards/research-awards (accessed 2025-4-11)

(5) Student Awards. ASMS 2025. https://www.asms.org/about-asms-awards/student-travel-awards (accessed 2025-4-11)