Psychology Professor Receives PNAS 2014 Cozzarelli Prize

February 25, 2015—Psychology Professor Abigail Marsh and her co-authors have been awarded a 2014 Cozzarelli Prize from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

PNAS, a comprehensive multidisciplinary scientific journal, publishes more than 3,800 research papers each year. Awarded annually since 2005, the Cozzarelli Prize recognizes six recently published PNAS papers of “outstanding scientific excellence and originality.”

Marsh’s paper, “Neural and cognitive characteristics of extraordinary altruists,” examines how altruistic behavior, particularly “costly altruism towards strangers, such as kidney donation,” might be explained. The article was co-authored by Sarah A. Stoycos, Kristin M. Brethel-Haurwitz, Paul Robinson, John W. VanMeter, and Elise M. Cardinale. 

“We are so pleased and honored to have received this recognition,” Marsh said. “The work we describe in the manuscript was a tremendous pleasure to conduct, and we believe the results are an important contribution to understanding the origins of human altruism.”

The Cozzarelli Prize is awarded in six different categories: Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering and Applied Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Behavioral and Social Sciences, and Applied Biological, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. “Neural and cognitive characteristics of extraordinary altruists” received the “Behavioral and Social Sciences” prize. 

The paper will be formally recognized at the PNAS Editorial Board Meeting on Sunday, April 26, 2015, in Washington, DC. Winning papers will also be listed in the National Academy of Sciences Awards Ceremony program and announced during the ceremony, which will also take place on April 26.