James (Jim) S. Huston, Ph.D., (1945-2020) was a pioneering and visionary antibody engineer; his invention of the single chain Fv (sFv or scFv) antibody was a seminal advance. These genetically encoded molecules could express the vast diversity of antibody repertoires, be used for specific target binding by themselves, incorporated into multifunctional molecules, attached to cell surfaces, or applied in any number of formats relevant to biomedicine. Over the years scFvs became a staple in the antibody field enabling many critical advances.
Jim was one of the first scientists to recognize the long-term potential of antibody engineering and the broad scope of its applications. Those who had the privilege of interacting with him, benefitted greatly not only from his generosity, enthusiasm, intellectual rigor and encouragement, but also from his willingness to share his wisdom and experience. Jim was passionate about disseminating knowledge and education. He served as a scientific advisor to the Antibody Engineering and Therapeutics meetings for three decades and was editor of the annual Protein Engineering, Design and Structure (PEDS) special issue on antibodies. His insistence on scientific quality and education helped stimulate the culture of knowledge sharing between academia, industry and policy makers that is unique to our field. Building on this, he co-founded The Antibody Society in 2007 and was the Founding President and Chairman, remaining an active Board Member until his death. He shared the gratification of many that after a long gestation, antibody engineering and therapeutics are proving so beneficial to human health with the promise of much more to come.
The James S. Huston Antibody Science Talent Award
The James S. Huston Antibody Science Talent Award is sponsored by The Antibody Society to recognize and encourage upcoming scientists in the field of Antibody Engineering and Therapeutics. Society members who are early career research scientists, i.e., those within 10 years of their most recent advanced degree (Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent), are eligible for the Award. The scientist is recognized for making important contributions to the antibody field and/or the dissemination of antibody knowledge.
The submission guidelines are here.
The submission deadline is September 15, 2025. The winner will be selected by September 30th, and the Award will be presented in December at the Antibody Engineering and Therapeutics conference in San Diego.
The Award consists of:
- International recognition of the scientist’s accomplishments
- Opportunity to give a lecture on their work at the Antibody Engineering and Therapeutics conference in San Diego, California, as well as in a post-meeting webinar. The lecture will be made freely available on-demand on The Antibody Society’s YouTube Channel.
- Travel costs and registration fee to attend the Antibody Engineering and Therapeutics conference in San Diego
- USD $1500
We are proud to announce Dr. Xin Zhou, Ph.D., as the recipient of the 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗦. 𝗛𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱!
Dr. Zhou was selected for her pioneering work in protein engineering and chemical biology, advancing understanding of immune signaling, cancer drug resistance, and therapeutic reprogramming.
She will present her research at the upcoming 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 in San Diego this December, and we look forward to her talk.
Dr. Zhou is an Assistant Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School and of Cancer Biology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗗𝗿. 𝗭𝗵𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝗯: She holds a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Stanford University School of Medicine and completed postdoctoral research at University of California, San Francisco as a Merck – Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Fellow.
Since joining Dana-Farber and Harvard in 2022, her lab has developed technologies in protein engineering and chemical biology to study cancer and immune signaling, drug resistance, and metastasis, and to engineer self-regulated antibodies, enzymes, and cells for therapeutic reprogramming.
𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲: V Foundation Women Scientists Innovation Award for Cancer Research, NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (DP2), Damon Runyon Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientists, Helen Gurley Brown Foundation Trailblazer Award, Dana-Farber Innovations Therapeutic Accelerator LEAP Award, MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 (China region), PEGS Protein & Antibody Engineering Summit Young Scientist Keynote Award, and the NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award.
𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗿. 𝗭𝗵𝗼𝘂 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻! 🏆
For further information about the nomination process, please visit the award criteria page.
Learn about the 2024 recipient, Dr. Jenna Guthmiller.
Learn about the 2023 recipient, Heather J. Bax.
Learn about the 2022 recipient, Brandon DeKosky. (What is it like to win? Our 2022 Huston Award recipient, Prof. Brandon DeKosky, describes his experience in this 2-min video)
Learn about the 2021 recipient, Laura M. Walker.
Learn about the 2020 recipient, Jonathan Sockolosky.
