American Society For Microbiology Honors Edberg, Van Brakle, Moran, Whiteley, Mashburn-Warren And Handelsman

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Article Date: 20 Jul 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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American Society for Microbiology honors Stephen C. Edberg

The 2008 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) BD Award for Research in Clinical Microbiology was presented to Stephen C. Edberg, Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, and Director, Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, Yale-New Haven Hospital. Sponsored by BD Diagnostic Systems, this award recognizes a distinguished scientist for research accomplishments that form the foundation for important applications in clinical microbiology.

Dr. Edberg's contributions to clinical microbiology are vast and have played a role in many public health issues. His research has resulted in more than 180 publications, and his work has been foundational in many areas. Among Dr. Edberg's research activities that have found their way into usage in clinical microbiology laboratories are: constitutive enzyme testing for the rapid identification of Gram-negative species, the refinement of immunoglobulin coating of latex particles for the direct detection of antigens, and the use of hydrolysable substrates to directly identify bacterial and mycotic isolates within one hour. His work laid the groundwork for many of today's rapid identification methods. Dr. Edberg's most significant contribution to global well-being was his development of the "Colilert" test for the detection and enumeration of Escherichia coli in drinking water under field and laboratory conditions. This test system is a monumental contribution to world health, especially in developing countries.

Dr. Edberg received his B.A. in Biology from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and his M.A. in Bacteriology from Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York. He earned his Ph.D. at the State University of New York at Buffalo Medical School.

The BD Award for Research in Clinical Microbiology was presented during the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).

American Society for Microbiology honors Regina S. Van Brakle

The 2008 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Scherago-Rubin Award was presented to Regina S. Van Brakle, Microbiology Laboratory Supervisor, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C. This award recognizes an outstanding, bench-level clinical microbiologist.

Ms. Van Brakle has worked in the Infectious Disease Laboratory at Walter Reed for the past 16 years, the past 5 of which she served as the Microbiology Laboratory Supervisor. The laboratory has grown tremendously under her supervision, not only in support of Walter Reed physicians and patients, but throughout the northeast region and beyond - including providing quantitative Hepatitis C viral load testing to the entire Army. Furthermore, the laboratory has been deeply involved in the support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2003, Ms. Van Brakle's team quickly recognized the emergence of multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter in traumatic wounds suffered by returning soldiers. She aggressively partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and other tertiary care laboratories to study this organism's mechanisms of resistance. She also led the effort to establish a laboratory using Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis that maintains a database of Acinetobacter isolates to aid in further research and to assist in controlling spread to other patients. Her efforts in this area have led to co-authorship on several posters and published papers.

Ms. Van Brakle earned her B.S. in Medical Technology at York College of Pennsylvania.

The Scherago-Rubin Award was presented during the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).

American Society for Microbiology honors Mary Ann Moran

The inaugural 2008 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) D.C. White Research and Mentoring Award was presented to Mary Ann Moran, Distinguished Research Professor, Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens. This award honors the late David C. White, who was known for his interdisciplinary scientific approach and for being a dedicated and inspiring mentor. It is being presented to Dr. Moran for her distinguished accomplishments in interdisciplinary research and mentoring.

Dr. Moran is highly regarded in marine microbial biology and has distinguished herself as a mentor and a role model. For students and trainees at every level, she creates stimulating research environments that allow young scientists to fulfill their potential and excel. She is a world leader in the study of microbial and photochemical transformations of several types of organic substances, especially plant-derived lignins and their degradation products, that are highly resistant to biological degradation and that accumulate over long periods of time in aquatic ecosystems. Dr. Moran's interest in this area led her to develop new techniques for studying naturally occurring marine bacteria in situ, with which she identified a group of marine bacteria, the Roseobacter clade. In 2004, Dr. Moran was appointed a Moore Foundation Investigator in Marine Microbiology, a rare and prestigious honor that awarded $2.6 million for her work on the genomics of marine bacteria. She is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.

Dr. Moran received her B.A. from Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, and her M.S. from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. She earned her Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Georgia, Athens.

The D.C. White Research and Mentoring Award was presented during the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).

American Society for Microbiology honors Marvin Whiteley

A 2008 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Merck Irving S. Sigal Memorial Award was presented to Marvin Whiteley, Assistant Professor, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Texas at Austin. Sponsored by Merck Research Laboratories, the Merck Irving S. Sigal Memorial Award is presented in memory of Irving S. Sigal, who was instrumental in the early discovery of therapies to treat HIV/AIDS, to recognize excellence in basic research in medical microbiology and infectious diseases.

Dr. Whiteley, who earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology at the University of Iowa and completed his postdoctoral work at Stanford University, is a leader in the field of bacterial cell-cell communication. His accomplishments include several discoveries that have impacted the understanding of chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. As a graduate student, Dr. Whiteley provided the first experimental evidence that quorum sensing is a global regulatory system in P. aeruginosa infection, responsible for modulating numerous processes aside from virulence. He went on to show how quorum sensing-controlled genes are controlled temporally - work that provided the basis for understanding density-dependent gene expression in many other bacterial species. Dr. Whiteley also was the first to examine gene expression in biofilm-growing bacteria, providing the novel hypothesis that biofilm bacteria possess limited critical changes in gene expression.

The Merck Irving S. Sigal Memorial Award was presented during the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

American Society for Microbiology honors Lauren Mashburn-Warren

A 2008 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Raymond W. Sarber Award was presented to Lauren Mashburn-Warren, Graduate Student, Ph.D. program in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Texas at Austin. This award recognizes students at the undergraduate and predoctoral levels for research excellence and potential.

This exceptional young scientist has already made an important contribution to microbiology through her research on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen that causes a wide variety of infections, particularly in patients who are immunosuppressed. In 2007, Ms. Mashburn-Warren was awarded the Transatlantic Environmental Biotechnology Fellowship by the United States-European Union Task Force on Biotechnology Research and spent six weeks at the Research Center Borstel in Germany, where she studied biophysical chemistry techniques in the lab of Dr. Klaus Brandeburg. She has served as the primary author on two research manuscripts, an invited review, and a book chapter, as well as co-authoring another manuscript.

Ms. Mashburn-Warren earned her B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Oklahoma. For the past four years, she has been a Ph.D. student in the laboratory of Dr. Marvin Whiteley, first at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and then at the University of Texas at Austin.

The Raymond W. Sarber Award was presented during the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).

American Society for Microbiology honors Jo Handelsman

The 2008 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Roche Diagnostics Alice C. Evans Award was presented to Jo Handelsman, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor, Professor of Plant Pathology and co-Director, Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison. This award recognizes contributions toward the full participation and advancement of women in microbiology.

As a mentor, advocate, and role model, Dr. Handelsman has fostered the inclusion, development, and advancement of women in careers in microbiology. She is Co-Director of the Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute at the University of Wisconsin, which she founded with Dr. Molly Carnes, and Director of the Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching. She co-chairs the National Academies Summer Institutes on Undergraduate Teaching in Biology and serves on the National Academies Committee on Women in Academic Science and Engineering. Dr. Handelsman studies the structure and function of microbial communities and the signals that govern them through the applications of metagenomics, genetics, and small molecule chemistry. In 2006, she was named a Mentor in the Life Sciences by the National Academies and received a Woman of Distinction Award from the YWCA. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.

Dr. Handelsman received her B.S. in Agronomy from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, and her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

The Roche Diagnostics Alice C. Evans Award was presented during the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), June 1 - June 5, 2008 in Boston, Massachusetts. ASM is the world's oldest and largest life science organization and has more than 43,000 members worldwide. ASM's mission is to advance the microbiological sciences and promote the use of scientific knowledge for improved health and economic and environmental well-being.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Source: Garth Hogan
American Society for Microbiology