Awards

Monell is proud to recognize extraordinary scientific achievement within and outside the Center.

The Morley R. Kare Fellowship provides salary and research support for talented junior Monell scientists, granting the Fellow time and resources to build a productive research program.

Monell’s named lectureships bring distinguished speakers to the Center to share their knowledge. The Martin Meyerson Lectureship honors academic speakers from cross-cutting chemosensory fields who present their latest scientific findings and insights, while the Kunio Yamazaki Distinguished Lectureship honors researchers who speak to topics related to genetics and chemical signals of identity.

Scroll down to learn more about these honors, which represent Monell’s dedication to innovative scientific talent.

Morley R. Kare Fellowship

Morley R. Kare, PhD

In 1968, at a time when very little was understood about the senses of taste and smell, Dr. Morley R. Kare pioneered the Monell Center’s creation. In addition to maintaining research excellence at Monell, Dr. Kare recognized the importance of nurturing young scientists from diverse disciplines to become scientific leaders in the chemical senses.

Established in 1990, the Morley R. Kare Fellowship honors this vision by supporting talented junior scientists as they pursue their research programs at Monell. Originally used to support Assistant Members who have been reappointed, the Kare Fund recently has also supported senior postdoctoral fellows and research associates.

Are you interested in contributing to the Kare Fellowship fund? Visit this page to learn more.

Morley R. Kare Fellows:

  • 2023 – 2024
    Federica Genovese, PhD
  • 2020 – 2022
    Yali Zhang, PhD
  • 2018-2020
    Marco Tizzano, PhD
    Sunil Sukumaran, PhD (Morley R. Kare Research Associate)
  • 2017 – 2018
    Casey Trimmer, PhD (Morley R. Kare Postdoctoral Fellow)
  • 2012 – 2014
    Peihua Jiang, PhD
    Ichiro Matsumoto, PhD
  • 2008-2010
    Johannes Reisert, PhD
  • 2007-2008
    Charles C. Horn, PhD
  • 2004-2006
    Liquan Huang, PhD
  • 2001-2003
    Alexander A. Bachmanov, DVM, PhD
  • 2000-2001
    Graeme Lowe, PhD
  • 1999-2000
    Pamela H. Dalton, PhD
  • 1998-1999
    Rachel Herz, PhD
  • 1996-1998
    Nancy E. Rawson, PhD
  • 1995-1997
    Paul A. S. Breslin, PhD
  • 1993-1995
    Karen Teff, PhD
  • 1990-1992
    Julie Mennella, PhD

Martin Meyerson Lectureship

Martin and Margy Meyerson
Martin and Margy Meyerson

The purpose of the Martin Meyerson Lectureship is to bring preeminent academic speakers to the Monell Center each year to present the latest cutting edge scientific finding and insights. The Lectureship was established in 2009 through a leadership gift from Margy Ellin Meyerson in honor of her late husband, Martin Meyerson.

To date, the fund has supported eight speakers:

  • 2022: Dirk Trauner, PhD. Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor, University of Pennsylvania
  • 2020: Hans Clevers, PhD. Principal Investigator, Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research
  • 2018: Jeremy Nathans, MD, PhD. Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Neuroscience, and Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
  • 2016: Sarah Tishkoff, PhD. David and Lyn Silfen University Professor, Departments of Genetics and Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
  • 2014: Richard Wrangham, PhD. Ruth B. Moore Professor of Biological Anthropology, Harvard University. Founder, Kibale Chimpanzee Project
  • 2013: Bonnie Bassler, PhD. Squibb Professor in Molecular Biology, Chair Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University
  • 2011: Theodore Bestor, PhD. Reischauer Institute Professor of Social Anthropology and Japanese Studies, Chair of the Department of Anthropology, Harvard University
  • 2010: Matthew Meyerson, MD, PhD. Professor, Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School. Director, Center for Cancer Genome Discovery, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

The 2022 Martin Meyerson Lecture

Kunio Yamazaki Distinguished Lectureship

Kunio Yamazaki, PhD

Established in 2014, the Kunio Yamazaki Distinguished Lectureship honors the memory and professional legacy of Dr. Kunio Yamazaki by bringing eminent speakers to Monell to speak on topics related to Dr. Yamazaki’s seminal work on odortypes, the genetically-determined body odors that distinguish one individual of a species from another.

To date, the fund has supported five speakers:

2023: Lisa Stowers, Ph.D, Professor, Department of Neuroscience, Scripps Research

2022: Linda B. Buck, Ph.D, The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2004 for her discoveries of odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system.

2019: Makoto Tominaga, MD, PhD. Professor, Division of Cellular Signaling, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, National Institutes of Natural Sciences; Professor, Thermal Biology Group, Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems, National Institutes of Natural Sciences

2017: Kazushige Touhara, PhD. Professor, Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, The University of Tokyo.

2015: Yuzo Ninomiya, PhD, DVM. Distinguished Professor, Department of Oral Neuroscience, Graduate School of Dental Sciences, Division of Sensory Physiology, Research Development Center for Taste and Odor Sensing, Kyushu University.

The 2023 Kunio Yamazaki Lecture