ASTMH - Joseph Augustin LePrince Medal

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Only members can submit nominations. (Nominees can be members or non-members.)

Joseph Augustin LePrince Medal

"The Joseph Augustin LePrince Medal recognizes outstanding work in the field of malariology."

Nominations for the 2024 Jospeph Augustin LePrince Medal will open in April or May. For a list of previous medalists, scroll down.

Please Note: Members of the Awards Committee cannot nominate anyone for a medal, cannot add a supporting letter or be nominated for a medal. Not being eligible to receive a medal also extends to all sitting members of the Board/Executive Committee. The Society encourages members to look beyond elected leadership in nominating deserving candidates. Former elected leaders are eligible.

Joseph A. LePrince was born in Leeds, England, and came to the United States at age six. He received a degree in Civil Engineering from Columbia University. In 1901 he went to Havana to work with Major Gorgas, initially on a 60 day trial contract. First as Assistant to Gorgas, and later as General Inspector of the Department of Sanitation, he played a key role in turning the new discoveries into practical vector control measures. When Gorgas was assigned to the Canal Zone, LePrince accompanied him, where he became “Health Officer of the Strip.”

LePrince was the first person to control malaria by killing of mosquitoes in dwellings. After his outstanding work in the Canal Zone, LePrince began his service in the U.S. Public Health service in 1915. During WWI he had charge of malaria control activities around Army and Navy installations in the United States. In 1923 he went to Mexico to develop malaria control in the oil fields in that country. He was a charter member of the National Malaria Committee and a leading figure in the successful malaria eradication efforts in the southern U.S. He retired from the Public Health Service in 1939, and died in 1956. The first Joseph Augustin LePrince Medal was awarded in 1951 to LePrince himself.