Edward Perl (1926-2014), a neuroscientist and former professor of Cell Biology & Physiology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, established the prize in 2000 to recognize outstanding scientific contribution in neuroscience.
He had envisioned that the selection committee would choose recipients "from a broad field of neuroscience ranging from development to molecular mechanisms to integrative function."
Perl further noted that "[t]he prize allows me to acknowledge the university for the opportunities it has given me" and that it "would help call attention to the institution and our strength in neuroscience.
"[1] As of 2017, six recipients of the Perl-UNC Prize have gone on to win Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine (Linda Buck, Richard Axel, May-Britt Moser, Edvard Moser) or Chemistry (Roger Tsien, Roderick MacKinnon).
[2] Source: UNC Neuroscience Center Current members are William Snider (Chair), Tom Albright, Vanessa Ruta, Julie Kauer, Regina Carelli, Ben Philpot, and Mark Zylka.