ORIGINS

Founded in 1967 by Dr. Walter A. Shaw, Avanti Polar Lipids. originated from Dr. Shaw’s own need for highly purified egg phosphatidylcholine for use in a lipoprotein lipase assay. The excess material he produced was evaluated and purchased by Grand Island Biological Company (GIBCO, now part of Invitrogen/Thermo Fisher Scientific), and Avanti was born soon thereafter. Dr. Shaw’s vision was to provide scientists with the highest quality lipid products available thereby eliminating the uncertainty of questionable lipid reagents. It is that vision which continues to direct the company today.

TODAY

Since its spartan beginnings in a 900 square foot rented laboratory space, Avanti has established a 25 acre manufacturing campus comprised of 11 buildings which house our manufacturing, formulation, analytical, and administrative units. Operations were moved to the current site in Alabaster, Alabama, in 1990, and we have continued to expand our capabilities and attract talented personnel to develop new and innovative products. With over 120 employees diligently working to provide high quality revolutionary lipid products, we have successfully grown our product offering to well over 2000 unique lipids, antibodies, and lipid research tools while maintaining the founding vision established by Dr. Shaw in 1967. Quite an accomplishment considering we started with a catalog containing only a handful of lipids isolated from plant and animal sources.

By maintaining our commitment to quality on which we were established, Avanti has built a loyal following of customers. We take pride in the amazing things they do with our lipids, and it drives us to provide more innovative tools to advance their research. Each year we see our customer base multiply, not only in North America but globally through our network of distributors. We continue to improve and expand our distribution network to reach more scientists who need “the good stuff”.

Avanti Awards in Lipids

The Avanti Awards in Lipids recognize outstanding research contributions.

WALTER A. SHAW YOUNG INVESTIGATOR AWARD IN LIPID RESEARCH

This award recognizes outstanding research contributions in the area of lipids by young investigators who are an Assistant professor or equivalent and with no more than 10 years of experience since receiving their degree (PhD and/or MD).

2020/2021 – Jeremy Baskin

2019 – Shu Sin Chng

2018 – John Burke

2017 – Gregory D. Fairn

2016 – Christer S. Ejsing

2015 – Britta Brügger

2014 – Mary L. Kraft

2013 – Tobias Walther

2012 – Peter Espenshade

2011 – Charles E. Chalfant

2010 – Sarah Keller

AVANTI POLAR LIPIDS / EBSA AWARD

This award aims to recognize the most important European scientific contributions in the understanding of Biophysics of lipids, including metabolism, enzymology, structure and membranes.

2021 – Elina Ikonen

2019 – Bruno Antonny

2017 – Jean-Marie Ruysschaert

2015 – J. Antoinette Killian

2013 – Felix Go?i

AVANTI-BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY

This award is given to an investigator for outstanding contributions to our understanding of lipid biophysics.

2021 – Richard Pastor

2020 – Akihiro Kusumi

2019 – Enrico Gratton

2018 – Wonhwa Cho

2017 – Sarah L. Keller

2016 – Philip Yeagle

2015 – Gerald Feigenson

2014 – Michael Brown

2013 – Joseph Zasadzinski

2012 – Huey W. Huang

2011 – Eric Oldfield

2010 – James A. Hamilton

2009 – Stephen H. White

2008 – Ben de Kruijff

2007 – Klaus Gawrisch

2006 – Thomas E. Thompson

2005 – Joachim Seelig

2004 – Thomas J. McIntosh

2003 – John F. Nagle & Stephanie Tristram-Nagle

2001 – Ronald McElhaney

1999 – Richard M. Epand

1998 – Lewis C. Cantley

1997 – Ching-hsien Huang

AVANTI-ASBMB AWARD

This Award recognizes outstanding research contributions in the area of lipids.

2020/2021 – Jean Schaffer

2019 – Vytas Bankaitis

2018 – Dennis Voelker

2017 – Volker Hauke

2016 – Robert V. Farese, Jr.

2015 – Karen Reue

2014 – Sandra Hofmann

2013 – Susan Henry

2012 – George M. Carman

2011 – Yusuf Hannun

2010 – David W. Russell

2009 – Sarah Spiegel

2008 – Alexandra C. Newton

2007 – Scott D. Emr

2006 – Dennis Vance

2005 – William Dowhan

2004 – William L. Smith, Ph.D.

2003 – Robert Bittman

2002 – Christian R.H. Raetz

2000 – Edward A. Dennis

1998 – Lewis C. Cantley

1996 – Robert M. Bell

AVANTI-OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN BIOACTIVE LIPIDS IN CANCER, INFLAMMATION, & RELATED DISEASE

This award recognizes outstanding achievement in the area of lipids.

2019 – Junken Aoki, Ph.D.

2019 — Jesper Z. Haegstromm, Ph.D.

2019 — Sarah Spiegel, M.D.

2017 – Bruce D. Hammock, Ph.D.

2017 — Jorge H. Capdevila, Ph.D.

2017 — Darryl C. Zeldin, M.D.

2015 – Timothy Hla, Ph.D.

2013 – Takao Shimizu, M.D., Ph.D.

2013 — Andrew J. Dannenberg, M.D.

2011– Carlo Patrono, M.D.

2011 — Garret A. FitzGerald, M.D.

2009 – Edward J. Goetzl, M.D.

THE CATHERINE E. COSTELLO AWARD FOR WOMEN SCIENTISTS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY – SPONSORED BY AVANTI POLAR LIPIDS, INC.

This award recognizes a woman who has made substantial contributions in mass spectrometry in her professional work and is dedicated to the success of the laboratory’s mass spectrometry program.

2020 — Sarah Riley