Gordon Hammes Lectureship

PURPOSE: The Gordon Hammes Lectureship was created to recognize an established investigator for outstanding contributions in the field of biological chemistry. It is administered jointly by the Editor-in-Chief of Biochemistry and the ACS Division of Biochemistry and Chemical Biology and is intended to foster closer relations between the ACS Publications Divisions and the ACS Division of Biochemistry and Chemical Biology.

Nominations are Closed

  • The lectureship award recognizes an established investigator for outstanding contributions in the field of biological chemistry. Awards are presented at an ACS National Meeting and the winners present a lecture along with other prominent researchers in the field.

    The 2025 Winner will Receive: 

    • An award plaque

    • An honorarium of US$2,000

    • Registration for ACS Fall 2025, August 17–21, Washington, DC

    • Up to US$2,500 in travel and accommodations funding to attend and present at ACS Fall 2025 August 17–21, Washington, DC

    The winner is expected to submit a Perspective for publication in Biochemistry within six months of delivering their talk at ACS Fall 2025 (subject to the normal peer-review process).

  • The Gordon Hammes Lectureship was established in 2006 and is awarded alongside the Gordon Hammes Scholar Award.

    • Self-nominations are welcome

    • The following individuals are ineligible to be considered:

      • Current ACS Publications Editors-in-Chief, Deputy Editors, Executive Editors, Senior Editors, Associate Editors, and Topic Editors

      • Any serving selection committee member for this award

      • Former Editors-in-Chief, Executive Editors and Associate Editors of Biochemistry whose tenure with the journal ended 3 or fewer years ago (for example, for awards being given in 2025, individuals who were formerly Biochemistry editors at any point during 2022, 2023, or 2024 are ineligible for consideration).

  • Nominations must include the URL of up to 10 of the nominee's most relevant publications and a short paragraph of nomination remarks -- 500 words or fewer -- describing the nominee's research accomplishments related to this nomination. They can be submitted via an online form, which will become available when the nomination period opens up.

    (Before making a nomination, you must get the nominee's consent to share information about them as part of the nomination process. This is necessary for the American Chemical Society, ACS Publications, and the ACS Division of Biological Chemistry to comply with laws and rules around the processing of personal data.)

    Additional information is also available at the nomination form link.

  • 2025: Karen Allen, Boston University

    2024: Michelle Arkin, University of California, San Francisco

    2023: Hung-Wen “Ben” Liu, The University of Texas at Austin

    2022: Patrick Sexton, Monash University

    2021: Dan Tawfik, Weizmann Institute of Science