The University of Maryland’s Vice President for Research Gregory F. Ball has been named the recipient of the 2023 Daniel S. Lehrman Lifetime Achievement Award. Granted by the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology (SBN), the award honors the lifetime achievements of a distinguished researcher in the field.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Ball’s research has explored the endocrine, social, and environmental controls of reproductive behavior, primarily in birds. He has made significant contributions to the field of behavioral neuroendocrinology through his work on the “challenge hypothesis”—which outlines the relationship between testosterone and aggression in mating, clarification of the role of androgens and estrogens in song behavior, exploration of the seasonal control of song behavior, and comparative studies of the neuroanatomy of male and female birds. Dr. Ball maintains a lab in UMD’s Department of Psychology and has amassed over 280 research publications and works in the field of behavioral neuroscience. Additionally, he is an elected fellow of the American Ornithological Society, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
As a member of the SBN, Dr. Ball served as president of the organization from 2009 to 2011 and most recently as SBN’s representative to the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (FABBS).
In addition to these scientific accomplishments, he has also been an exceptional mentor. Dr. Ball has had a total of 29 pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainees. Many of his trainees now work in academic positions and continue to contribute substantially to the development of their scientific field.
Prior to his tenure as Vice President for Research, Dr. Ball served as Dean of the University’s College of Behavioral and Social Sciences from 2014 to 2022. Before 2014, he was Vice Dean for Science and Research Infrastructure in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University, where he also served as a professor in its Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences for 23 years.
Dr. Ball now oversees the joint research enterprise of the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, which collectively ranks among the top 10 public institutions in research expenditures and garners over $1.3 billion annually in research awards.
In celebration of his long and distinguished career, Dr. Ball will be presented with the 2023 Daniel S. Lehrman Award and will deliver the Lehrman Keynote Address at the Society of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology’s annual meeting this June in Tours, France.
To read more about the award and Dr. Ball’s research, achievements, mentorship, and service, please visit the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology’s website.