Erin Calipari, associate professor of pharmacology and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, has been awarded the 2025 Daniel H. Efron Research Award by the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. This prestigious honor recognizes outstanding basic research contributions to the field of neuropsychopharmacology.
Calipari’s research has transformed our understanding of dopamine’s role in the brain, shifting the field’s view from dopamine as a simple reward signal to a more nuanced interpretation of it as a salience signal. This insight has major implications for understanding substance use disorders and developing more effective treatments.
Reflecting on the award, Calipari expressed deep gratitude for the ACNP community. “I’ve seen the people who have been awarded this award each year and it’s always been an amazing group of incredibly impactful and rigorous scientists. I just feel lucky to be in this group,” she said.
Calipari emphasized the collaborative spirit of science, crediting her mentors, colleagues, and lab for helping her get to where she is today. “This award is really a reflection of how my team and my mentors and my friends and I have worked together to refine ideas that are ultimately important to understanding mental health.”
Presented at ACNP’s 64th Annual Meeting, the award underscores Calipari’s impact not only as a pioneering scientist, but also as a mentor and advocate for science communication.