Research Awards Dinner
The annual Research Awards Dinner is a special evening where AFSP recognizes the deeply impactful contributions of leading researchers in the field of suicide prevention.
AFSP’s annual Research Awards Dinner is held in New York City each May, and this special evening shines a light on incredible contributions to the field. The honorees present their research findings, strengthen the scientific community around suicide research and bring together AFSP leadership, Board and Scientific Council members, the leading suicide prevention researchers, friends and family for a night of celebration and reflection.
Each year, AFSP honors a researcher with a Lifetime Research Award which reflects a career and body of work for its significant and broad impact on the field of suicide prevention; and also honors a researcher with an Annual Research Award which is intended for a researcher or group of researchers who have completed significant research to advance a specific area of suicide prevention. The awards are made through a nomination and selection process conducted by the AFSP Scientific Council. Recipients receive their awards the following night at the annual Lifesavers Gala.
To learn more about the Research Awards Dinner, please reach out to [email protected].
Lifetime Research Award: Jane Pearson, Ph.D.
Special Advisor to the Director for Suicide Research, National Institute of Mental Health
Dr. Pearson is a widely recognized authority on suicide and suicide prevention with expertise in clinical psychology and public health strategies. She currently leads the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Suicide Research Team, is an adjunct professor at The John Hopkins University, serves on the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention Research Task Force, and is an American Psychological Association Fellow. She assisted in the development of the first Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent Suicide and the first U.S. National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. Additionally, she has practiced as a licensed clinical psychologist and has authored papers on the ethical and methodological challenges of suicide research.
Annual Research Award: Holly Wilcox, Ph.D., M.A.
Professor, Department of Mental Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Dr. Wilcox uses research to advance public health approaches to suicide prevention, including policies, early intervention, and chain-of-care approaches. At John Hopkins, she teaches a “Suicide As a Public Health Problem” course and helped establish a multidisciplinary research group on suicide prevention, which received the Team Science Award from the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. Additionally, she is on the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Scientific Council, serves as president of the International Academy of Suicide Research, and is the co-chair of the Suicide Prevention Task Group of the National Network of Depression Centers.
Save the Date for the Lifesavers Gala
Previous Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients
Marsha Linehan, Ph.D., ABPP
2025 Award Recipient
Barbara H. Stanley, Ph.D.
2024 Award Recipient
Madelyn Gould, Ph.D.
2023 Award Recipient
David Brent, M.D.
2022 Award Recipient
John Mann, M.D.
2019 Award Recipient
Jules Angst, M.D.
2013 Award Recipients
George Murphy, M.D.
2008 Award Recipient
David Shaffer, M.D.
2007 Award Recipient
Aaron T. Beck, M.D.
2006 Award Recipient
Norman L. Farberow, M.D.
2003 Award Recipient
Alec Roy, M.D.
2002 Award Recipient
Jan Fawcett, M.D.
2000 Award Recipient
Previous Annual Research Award Recipients
Katherine Ann Comtois, Ph.D., MPH
2025 Award Recipient
Jeffrey Bridge, Ph.D.
2024 Award Recipient
Rory O’Connor, Ph.D.
2023 Award Recipient
Brian Ahmedani, Ph.D.
2022 Award Recipient
Edwin Boudreaux, Ph.D.
2021 Award Recipient
Gregory Simon, M.D., MPH
2019 Award Recipient
Cheryl King, Ph.D.
2018 Award Recipient
Joan Asarnow, Ph.D.
2017 Award Recipient
Alan Apter, M.D.
2016 Award Recipient
David Gunnell, Ph.D.
2015 Award Recipient
Guy Diamond, Ph.D. Gary Diamond, Ph.D.
2014 Award Recipients
Maria Oquendo, M.D.
2013 Award Recipient
Gustavo Turecki, M.D., Ph.D.
2012 Award Recipient
Yeates Conwell, M.D.
2011 Award Recipient
Ghanshyam Pandey, Ph.D.
Victoria Arango, Ph.D.
2010 Award Recipients
Gregory Brown, Ph.D.
Barbara Stanley, Ph.D.
Glenn Currier, M.D.
2009 Award Recipients
Annette Beautrais, Ph.D.
2008 Award Recipient
J. Raymond DePaulo Jr., M.D.
2007 Award Recipient
Madelyn Gould, Ph.D.
2006 Award Recipient
Danuta Wasserman, M.D., Ph.D.
2005 Award Recipient
Ross J. Baldessarini, M.D.
Leonardo Tondo, M.D.
Bruno Müller-Oerlinghausen, M.D.
Alec Coppen, M.D.
2004 Award Recipients
Jouko Lönnqvist, M.D.
2003 Award Recipient
Keith Hawton, D.Sc.
2002 Award Recipient
Charles Nemeroff, M.D.
2001 Award Recipient
Herbert Y. Meltzer, M.D.
2000 Award Recipient
Marsha M. Linehan, Ph.D.
1999 Award Recipient
David A. Brent, M.D.
1998 Award Recipient
Fredrick Goodwin, M.D.
1997 Award Recipient
Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D.
1996 Award Recipient
J. John Mann, M.D.
1995 Award Recipient
George Murphy, M.D.
1994 Award Recipient
Jan Fawcett, M.D.
1993 Award Recipient
Marie Asberg, M.D.
1992 Award Recipient
Aaron T. Beck, M.D.
1991 Award Recipient
Gerald Klerman, M.D.
Myrna Weissman, Ph.D.
1990 Award Recipients
David Shaffer, M.D.
1989 Award Recipient