University of Pittsburgh

The Dickson Prize in Medicine

About the Dickson Prize in Medicine

The Dickson Prize in Medicine—the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s highest honor—is awarded annually to an American biomedical researcher who has made significant, progressive contributions to medicine.

The Dickson Prize often presages other major accolades. Since 1970–71, the first year the prize was awarded, 16 Dickson winners have won Nobel Prizes, and 23 recipients of the Dickson prize have received the Lasker Award, the most prestigious American honor for medical research.

See the Dickson Prize in Medicine Medal >

The Dickson Prize is for investigators who are at especially productive points in their careers and whose research is, or will be, so influential that it deserves major recognition.

Winners of the prize receive a medal, a $50,000 honorarium, and travel expenses to Pitt to accept the award and present the keynote lecture. During the prizewinner’s visit to Pitt, he or she also participates in scientific activities and meets informally with students, postdoctoral fellows, and other investigators.

The Dickson Prize in Medicine was one of two prizes established by the estates of Joseph Z. Dickson and his wife, Agnes Fischer Dickson. The Dickson Prize in Science is awarded each year by Carnegie Mellon University.