News Release

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund awards $8 million to infectious disease investigators

16 researchers receive Investigators in Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease awards

Grant and Award Announcement

Burroughs Wellcome Fund

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- When the 16 recipients of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund's Investigators in Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease award were notified that they had received the award, there was more good news. The award amount had increased to $500,000 over a five-year period from $400,000.

The Investigators in Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease awards are made to encourage aggressive, multidisciplinary approaches to investigating pathogenesis. BWF launched the program in 2002 and has made 58 awards for an investment of approximately $24.8 million in the careers of investigators who are working on understanding the interaction between the human host and the infectious agent–bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic.

All awardees hold tenure-track faculty positions and must be nominated by degree-granting institutions in the United States or Canada.

"The constant threat of infectious disease is of global concern,” BWF President Dr. Enriqueta Bond said. "Understanding the underlying principles of how the microbial world interacts with the human host is of paramount importance. We are pleased to play a role in the expansion of knowledge in this important scientific field.”

Following are the 2007 award recipients, along with their institutions and research projects:

Benjamin K. Chen, M.D., Ph.D.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Dissemination of HIV through virological synapses

Andrew Darwin, Ph.D.
New York University School of Medicine
Mechanisms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa tolerance to secretin-induced stress during host infection

Michael R. Farzan, Ph.D.
Harvard Medical School
Parallel identification of obligate viral receptors

Britt Glaunsinger, Ph.D.
University of California-Berkeley
Global modulation of cellular gene expression by an oncogenic human herpesvirus

Karen J. Guillemin, Ph.D.
University of Oregon
Regulation of gut epithelial cell homeostasis by the microbiota

Lora V. Hooper, Ph.D.
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center-Dallas
Innate immune responses to commensal bacteria at gut epithelial surfaces

Eckhard Jankowsky, Ph.D.
Case Western Reserve University
Molecular mechanisms of pathogen identification by the pattern recognition receptors RIG-I and MDA5

Barbara I. Kazmierczak, M.D., Ph.D.
Yale University
The role of injury in Pseudomonas aeruginosa pulmonary infection

Manuel Llinas, Ph.D.
Princeton University
Global analysis of the Plasmodium falciparum metabolome

Harmit S. Malik, Ph.D.
University of Washington
Evolution-based identification and functional study of intracellular host-virus interactions

Dorian B. McGavern, Ph.D.
The Scripps Research Institute
Chemical and molecular approaches to probe viral pathogenesis in real time

Yorgo Modis, Ph.D.
Yale University
Cell entry and innate immune recognition of flaviviruses

Neal Silverman, Ph.D.
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Intracellular bacterial recognition in the Drosophila innate immune response

Raphael H. Valdivia, Ph.D.
Duke University Medical Center
The role of secreted bacterial proteases in chlamydial pathogenesis

Andres Vazquez-Torres, D.V.M., Ph.D.
University of Colorado-Denver and Health Sciences Center-Fitzsimons Campus
Effects of nitrosative stress on bacterial two component regulatory systems in innate host defense

Ning Zheng, Ph.D.
University of Washington
Viral hijacking of host ubiquitin ligase machinery

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ABOUT THE FUND

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund is an independent, private foundation dedicated to advancing the medical sciences by supporting research and other scientific and educational activities. A majority of its grantmaking is made through competitive programs designed to support the career development of young scientists and to build capacity in undervalued research areas. For more information about BWF, contact Russ Campbell, Communications Officer, at 919-991-5119 or visit our web site at http//www.bwfund.org.


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