About the Award

The NAS Award in the Neurosciences is awarded every three years to recognize extraordinary contributions to the progress of the neuroscience fields, including neurochemistry, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology, developmental neuroscience, neuroanatomy, and behavioral and clinical neuroscience. The award is presented with a $25,000 prize.

Liqun Luo, Stanford University, will receive the 2025 NAS Award in the Neurosciences.

Luo is recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to advance understanding of the development and organization of neural circuits.

Luo studies how neural circuits are assembled during development, and how their architectures enable them to perform specific functions in adults. He has profoundly impacted neuroscience by developing novel genetic tools for neural circuit analysis and uncovering foundational mechanisms of neural development, neuronal diversity, and brain wiring.

2025 NAS Award in the Neurosciences Recipient Liqun Luo Social

In addition to his scientific accomplishments, Luo has served as an impactful mentor and inspiration to new generations of young neuroscientists. His textbook has become a cornerstone of neuroscience education.

Luo will be honored in a ceremony on Sunday, April 27 during the National Academy of Sciences’ 162nd annual meeting. The ceremony will be livestreamed.

Award History

The NAS Award in the Neurosciences was established in 1986 by the Fidia Research Foundation. Seymour S. Kety and Louis Sokoloff became the first recipients of the award in 1988 for their work developing techniques to measure brain blood flow and metabolism. The techniques developed remain valuable to the study of brain function and maintain application in clinical medicine. Kety’s nitrous oxide method to measure the brain’s blood flow revolutionized research on the human brain. His theory of inert gas exchange between blood and tissues sought to measure more localized measurements in the brain rather than the brain’s as a whole, which is what the nitrous oxide method measured. In translating the theory to method, Sokoloff collaborated with Kety to translate Kety’s theory to an operational method. The work completed by the two in made huge strides in the field of neuroscience.

Previous recipients of the NAS Award in the Neurosciences continue to achieve outstanding advancements in their fields. Five recipients have been honored with a National Medal of Science, three recipients have received a Lasker Award, and one recipient has received a Nobel Prize in Medicine (Greengard 2000).

Most Recent Recipient
Liqun Luo
2025
Sign up for Newsletter

Join the awards mailing list to receive updates including news, nomination details, and deadlines.

Subscribe

* indicates required
Award Types

Previous Award Recipients

Nancy Kanwisher
2022
Eve Marder
2019
Mortimer Mishkin
2016
Solomon H. Snyder
2013
Roger A. Nicoll
2010
Jean-Pierre Changeux
2007