2026 Awardees
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 ACA Awards, recognizing outstanding achievement, service, and leadership across the crystallographic sciences. These honorees represent the breadth and strength of our community, having made significant contributions to research, education, mentorship, public service, and the advancement of crystallography. On behalf of the American Crystallographic Association, we congratulate the 2026 award winners and thank them for their dedication and lasting impact on our field. All award recipients will be formally honored during the 2026 Congress and General Assembly of the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr2026) in Calgary, Canada.
 |
David G. Rognlie Award: Yifan Cheng
Yifan Cheng is recognized with the David G. Rognlie Award for his transformative contributions to structural science, particularly in the development and application of high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). His pioneering advances—including the first widely adopted motion-correction algorithms and characterization of single-electron counting detectors—were instrumental in enabling atomic-resolution cryo-EM and helped spark the field’s “resolution revolution.” Dr. Cheng’s landmark determination of the TRPV1 ion channel structure marked the first atomic-resolution structure of an integral membrane protein solved without crystallization, fundamentally reshaping approaches to membrane protein research. Beyond these technical breakthroughs, his work has provided deep mechanistic insight into ion channel function and protein–lipid interactions, while his leadership, mentorship, and service—most notably within the American Crystallographic Association’s Cryo-EM Special Interest Group—have had a lasting impact on the broader structural biology community. |
| |
|
 |
A. L. Patterson Award: Randy J. Read
Randy J. Read is internationally recognized for his transformative contributions to macromolecular crystallography, particularly the development and application of likelihood-based methods for structure determination. A Professor of Protein Crystallography at the University of Cambridge, Read pioneered statistically rigorous approaches that account for model error and uncertainty, fundamentally changing how crystallographers interpret diffraction data. His work underpins widely used tools such as σA-weighted electron density maps and the molecular replacement program Phaser, now the dominant method for solving new macromolecular structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank. Beyond these methodological advances, Read has made significant contributions to biological structure determination, cryo-EM data analysis, and community service through editorial leadership, meeting organization, and international data-validation efforts. His lasting impact on the theory and practice of diffraction methods exemplifies the scientific excellence recognized by the A. L. Patterson Award. |
| |
|
 |
Etter Early Career Award: Emmanuel Nji
Emmanuel Nji is recognized with the Margaret C. Etter Early Career Award for his outstanding scientific contributions and transformative leadership in structural science. An accomplished structural biologist specializing in membrane proteins, Dr. Nji has pioneered high-throughput methods for membrane protein production and developed innovative strategies for stabilizing challenging targets for X-ray crystallography and cryogenic electron microscopy. His research has led to major advances in understanding transport mechanisms in bacteria, malaria parasites, and humans, with results published in leading journals including Nature, Nature Communications, and Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. Beyond his scientific achievements, Dr. Nji is the co-founder and CEO of BioStruct-Africa, an initiative dedicated to building sustainable structural biology capacity across the African continent through hands-on training, mentorship, and international collaboration. Through this work, he has empowered a new generation of scientists and helped position structural science as a vital tool for addressing region-specific global health challenges.
|
|
