Joshua Sanes, PhD, the Jeff C. Tarr Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, emeritus, and founding director of Harvard’s Center for Brain Science (CBS), has been awarded the 2025 Ralph W. Gerard Prize in Neuroscience from the Society for Neuroscience (SfN). The Gerard Prize, the society’s most prestigious honor, recognizes lifetime achievement in neuroscience. Sanes will receive the award at SfN’s annual meeting on November 16.
“It’s their highest award, so I was both surprised and honored,” Sanes said. “It’s gratifying to know that the work we did in collaboration with wonderful students and colleagues continues to resonate across the field.”
The Gerard Prize is given annually to a scientist who has made outstanding contributions to neuroscience throughout their career. Recent Harvard-affiliated winners include Catherine Dulac, who received the prize in 2019. Sanes is the only other MCB member to have been recognized with this honor.
“I am delighted to hear that Josh has won the Gerard Award, which is the highest honor from the largest neuroscience society in the world – a supremely well-deserved recognition,” says MCB’s Venkatesh Murthy, the Raymond Leo Erikson Life Sciences Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Sanes’s successor as CBS Director. “He has been a foundational presence in the neuroscience community at Harvard, including his formative tenure as the founding Director of CBS.” In addition to his pioneering research, Murthy also appreciated Sanes’ contributions to MCB through his teaching and mentoring. “He has also been the driving force for the recruitment and retention of many outstanding faculty members in MCB and elsewhere in the FAS,” he says. We are lucky to have had Josh in our community over the last two decades.”
For Sanes, the Gerard Prize feels less like a capstone than a recognition of the enduring importance of curiosity-driven science. “Science is a collective enterprise,” he said. “Any recognition I’ve received reflects the creativity and persistence of the students and colleagues I’ve been lucky enough to work with. I’m excited to see where the next generation takes the field.”
