Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award (DSAA)

Award Type: Recognition award (not a research funding grant)

Geographic Scope: United States and international

Target Population: Basic researchers or physician-scientists with longstanding commitment to scientific discovery

Focus Areas:

• Major contributions to basic liver research
• Application in prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of liver disease
• Research in liver biology and disease
• Special recognition for contributions to understanding insulin resistance, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), and related metabolic conditions

Purpose: Presented annually to a basic researcher or physician scientist with a longstanding commitment to scientific discovery who has made major contributions to basic liver research or its application in the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of liver disease.

Recognition: Award is presented at the annual liver meeting held by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD)

Recent Recipient (2025): Dr. Gerald I. Shulman, MD, PhD - George R. Cowgill Professor of Medicine and Cellular & Molecular Physiology at Yale School of Medicine

Previous Recipient (2024): Dr. Jacquelyn J. Maher of University of California, San Francisco

Historical Note: The 2025 award to Dr. Shulman marked the first time in ALF history that the DSAA award was given to an endocrinologist and physician-scientist.