Dayong Gao Young Investigator Award
Sponsored by GoldSIM

Applications for the 2025 Dayong Gao Young Investigator Award are OPEN until March 12, 2025.

To apply please read the Applicant Information below. 
Established in 2019, the Dayong Gao Young Investigator Award (DGYI Award), sponsored by GoldSIM, is the Society for Cryobiology's prestigious award for early career researchers. The award carries a cash prize of $5,000, as well as a special lecture and registration waiver to the Society for Cryobiology's annual meeting.

The aim of the award is to foster and encourage early career cryobiology researchers who are in the first 10 years of their post-PhD career/research. The DGYIA is open to cryobiology researchers from around the world. Applicants do not need to to be a member of the Society for Cryobiology.

Prof. Dayong Gao Biography

Dr. Dayong Gao is the ORIGINCELL Endowed Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Director of the Center for Cryo-Biomedical Engineering and Artificial Organs, the University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. Prior to joining the University of Washington in 2004, he was the Baxter Healthcare Corp Chair of Engineering and the Alumni Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.  

Professor Gao is one of the internationally prominent scientists, educators, and leaders in Cryobiology, Cryo-Biomedical Engineering, and Artificial Organs-Bio-Instruments. He has published over 500 peer-reviewed research articles (including over 250 full journal papers) and over 40 scientific book chapters. He has trained and supervised over 200 graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and young visiting professors/investigators. He was the President of the Society for Cryobiology, and served as  a Chairman of the 1996 Annual Meeting of the Society for Cryobiology (CRYO-1996), the 2004 World Conference of  Cryobiology and Cryo-medicine (CRYO-2004), and the 2017 International Conference of Cryobiology and Biobanking (CRYO-2017), respectively. He was elected as a recipient of numerous international/national honors and awards, including the Member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences-USA, Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Fellow of the Society for Cryobiology with the Basil J. Luyet Medal, American Heart Association Award, American Cancer Society Award, Asian American Engineer of the Year Award, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Research Award, Whitaker Foundation Young Investigator Award, Washington Foundation Innovation Award, and the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) Special Service Award.

Dayong Gao Young Investigator Applicant Information 

Eligibility 
 The Society for Cryobiology Young Investigator Award is open to cryobiology researchers from around the world. Applicants do not need to be members of the Society for Cryobiology. 
 Applicants must be less than 10 years post-PhD at the time of the Society’s Annual Meeting. 
• The individual must, except under exceptional circumstances, be available to travel to the next Annual Meeting to present their research. 

Required Application Materials 

 Three papers published or accepted for publication. The candidate must be corresponding or first author on all three papers. (PDF)
 An academic resume/CV, which must contain a full list of publications (PDF)
 Proof of PhD graduation date (PDF, PNG, JPG)
 Two letters of support from respected members of the cryobiology community. (PDF)
     • Letters must highlight the research contributions made by the submitted papers and the essential role of the applicant in the research projects. 
     • Letters must be on letterhead and signed by the author
     • At least one letter must be from an individual who is not named as a co-author on any of the three papers submitted as part of the application.

To Apply
Email the necessary documents listed above to [email protected] by the closing date. All documents except the letters of recommendation must be sent together in one email. 

Letters of recommendation must be directly emailed by the letter writer to [email protected] by the closing date. 

Evaluation

• All applications will be assessed by the Society for Cryobiology Awards Committee, and their decision is final. 
• Applicants will be evaluated on the overall quality of the applicant’s CV, three original publications, and letters of support.

Regulations
• Applications must be submitted in English
• 
The winner must use part of the award value to fund travel and accommodation costs to the Society for Cryobiology’s next Annual Meeting to present their research. The remainder of the award value is available to use at the winner’s discretion. 
• If the winner is unable to travel to an Annual Meeting within 2 years of the Award announcement the prize may be forfeit. 
• In years in which the committee feels that applicants fall short of the expected standard, the committee may, at their discretion, withhold the Award.


Dayong Gao Young Investigator Winners

 
2024

Dr. Sylwia Judycka
Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland

University of Washington Tacoma, USA
2022
Dr. Rouhollah Fathi

Royan Institute, Iran
2021
Dr. Victor Gallego
University of Algarve, Portugal
Bushra Rakha  2020 
Dr. Bushra Rakha
Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Pakistan
2019
Dr. Leandro Godoy
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil