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Spotlight: The 2025 AAI ASPIRE Awardees

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At IMMUNOLOGY2025™, AAI will recognize the seven ASPIRE awardees for this year at the Business Meeting on Sunday, May 4, at 9:00 AM. This award, now in its second year, encourages and fosters the development of talented early-career AAI member scientists to continue advancing their research activities and scientific contributions in the field of immunology.

The ASPIRE awardees able to attend the annual meeting will present lectures at special symposia that include networking opportunities. View the slideshow below to find out about the awardees and their presentations:

Headshot of Mohammad Arifuzzaman and the quote: "As a new PI, receiving the ASPIRE award is both an incredible honor and a powerful catalyst for my research journey. My goal is to advance immunology by sharing bold ideas, forging meaningful collaborations, and building a network that fuels discovery. This award provides an unparalleled platform to do just that. It is not just a recognition—it’s a source of inspiration for me and my team, driving us to push boundaries, and work relentlessly toward innovation that can transform human health."

Mohammad Arifuzzaman, Ph.D. will present his lecture, “Dietary fiber and microbiota-derived bile acids regulate type 2 immune response  and metabolic homeostasis,” at the AAI ASPIRE Awards Symposium and Networking Session, 11:45–1:45 on Sunday, May 4, in Room 312.

Headshot of Christopher O. Barnes and the quote: "I am incredibly honored to receive the AAI ASPIRE Award, which highlights our contributions to structural immunology and their broader impact on the field. This recognition underscores the significance of our work across disciplines and further inspires us to advance antibody therapeutics and vaccine development against emerging RNA viruses.”

Christopher O. Barnes, Ph.D. will present his lecture, “Hitting a moving target: next-generation therapies to combat SARS-CoV-2 evolution,” at the AAI ASPIRE Awards Symposium and Networking Session, 11:45–1:45 on Sunday, May 4, in Room 312.

Headshot of Brandon DeKosky and the quote: "I am tremendously honored to receive an ASPIRE award, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to connect with a vibrant community of researchers who share a passion for advancing immunology. This exciting award will help support our ongoing work and collaborations that seek to define the critical roles of adaptive immune receptors in mediating health and disease."

Brandon J. DeKosky, Ph.D. will present his lecture at IMMUNOLOGY2026™ in Boston.

Headshot of Anna-MAria Globig and the quote: “Receiving the AAI ASPIRE Award is an incredible honor that provides important recognition and visibility at this early stage of my career as a research group leader. This support will help advance our lab’s work on understanding how nerves instruct immune responses, with the goal of uncovering new strategies for therapeutic intervention. I am grateful for this recognition and excited to share our findings with the immunology community.”

Anna-Maria Globig, M.D. will present her lecture at IMMUNOLOGY2026™ in Boston.

Headshot of Jennifer Guthmiller and the quote "I am honored to receive the AAI ASPIRE award, as it recognizes my past accomplishments in the field of viral immunology and provides a platform to showcase research from my independent laboratory."

Jennifer Guthmiller, Ph.D. will present her lecture, “Harnessing the ghosts of influenza past to generate protective humoral immunity” at the AAI ASPIRE Awards Symposium and Networking Session, 11:45–1:45 on Sunday, May 4, in Room 312.

Headshot of Miguel Reina-Campos and the quote "I am honored to receive the ASPIRE Award. Science is full of turns and twists, but this award reassures me that I might be on the right track to contribute meaningfully to the field of immunology and redoubles my commitment to pursuing my goals."

Miguel Reina-Campos, Ph.D. will present his lecture, “Spatial instructions of tissue immunity,” at the AAI ASPIRE Awards Symposium and Networking Session, 11:45–1:15 on Tuesday, May 6, in Room 312.

Headshot of Pamela Rosato and the quote: "The ASPIRE award gives me the chance to make new connections with world-class immunologists and showcase the research conducted by talented trainees in my lab on resident memory T cells in the brain. I’m grateful to be part of a society that supports early career scientists not just through funding, but also community and initiatives like free childcare at the annual meeting."

Pamela Rosato, Ph.D. will present her lecture, “Resident memory T cells on the brain,” at the AAI ASPIRE Awards Symposium and Networking Session, 11:45–1:15 on Tuesday, May 6, in Room 312.

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