American Society For Microbiology Honors Rosenberg, Baselsk, De Lorenzo And Clapham

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines;  Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 20 Jul 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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American Society for Microbiology honors Steven A. Rosenberg

The 2008 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Abbott Laboratories Award in Clinical and Diagnostic Immunology was presented to Steven A. Rosenberg, Chief of Surgery, National Cancer Institute, Professor of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and Professor of Surgery, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Sponsored by Abbott Laboratories Diagnostics Division, this award recognizes a distinguished scientist in clinical or diagnostic immunology for outstanding contributions.

Dr. Rosenberg has devoted his life to the understanding and treatment of cancer. His major achievements include the development of interleukin-2 as the first effective immunotherapy for cancer, identification of more than two dozen human cancer associated antigens used in studies of cancer immunology and immunotherapy, identification of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes and the use of these cells in adoptive immunotherapies for cancer, and the first clinical studies of gene therapy against cancer - an accomplishment which stimulated worldwide development of gene therapy. Dr. Rosenberg has received more than 40 national and international awards recognizing his contributions. His recent honors include the 2006 American Surgical Association Medallion for Scientific Achievement, the 2007 Sergio Lombroso Award in Cancer Research from the Weizmann Institute of Science, and the 2007 Statesman Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Dr. Rosenberg received his B.A. and M.D. from The Johns Hopkins University and his Ph.D. in Biophysics from Harvard University.

The Abbott Laboratories Award in Clinical and Diagnostic Immunology was presented during the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

American Society for Microbiology honors Vickie S. Baselski

The 2008 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) TREK Diagnostic ABMM/ABMLI Professional Recognition Award was presented to Vickie S. Baselski, Professor, University of Tennessee, Memphis. This award recognizes a Diplomate of the ABMM or the ABMLI for outstanding contributions to the professional recognition of clinical microbiologists and/or immunologists.

Dr. Baselski is a national leader in the areas of laboratory reimbursement and coding of diagnostic tests. She has consistently reached outside of the ASM to open lines of communication and put the spotlight on clinical microbiologists in venues that had been previously overlooked and acted as an ambassador in the realm of policymaking. Dr. Baselski began her influential work in this area as ASM's representative to the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee, which was formed by Congressional order in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. As co-chair of the Infectious Disease Subcommittee, she produced national coverage decisions for urine cultures, HIV diagnosis, and HIV prognosis. For the past five years, Dr. Baselski has represented ASM at the Open Door Forum at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to discuss reimbursement levels for new Current Procedural Technology (CPT) codes. Her outstanding performance secured a place for ASM at subsequent decision-making tables related to reimbursement.

Dr. Baselski received her B.A. and Ph.D., both in Microbiology, from the University of Texas, Austin.

The TREK Diagnostic ABMM/ABMLI Professional Recognition Award was presented during the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

American Society for Microbiology honors Victor de Lorenzo

The 2008 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) GlaxoSmithKline International Member of the Year Award was presented to Víctor de Lorenzo, Professor of Research, National Center of Biotechnology of the Spanish Research Council, Cantoblanco-Madrid, Spain. This award recognizes a distinguished microbiologist who has exhibited exemplary leadership in the international microbiological community.

Throughout his career, Dr. de Lorenzo has traversed and transcended national boundaries. He has served as an eloquent international ambassador for microbiology and an exceptional role model for young scientists. Dr. de Lorenzo has organized a number of international scientific meetings, including two European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Sectorial Workshops on Molecular Biology and one of the triennial meetings on Pseudomonas. He visits Latin American countries often and gives lectures and laboratory courses in microbiology, and serves on advisory boards of research institutes. Recently, he has been pursuing ways to enable more collaboration between Latin American and European scientists. Dr. de Lorenzo is an elected member of both the EMBO and the European Environmental Research Organization, and is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. He served as Spain's delegate and member of the Core Group in the Standing Committee for Life and Environmental Sciences of the European Science Foundation from 1998-2002.

Dr. de Lorenzo received his B.S.A. in Chemistry and his M.Sc. in Biochemistry at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain.

The GlaxoSmithKline International Member of the Year Award was presented during the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

American Society for Microbiology honors Katharine R. Clapham

American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Raymond W. Sarber Award was presented to Katharine R. Clapham, Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts. This award recognizes students at the undergraduate and predoctoral levels for research excellence and potential.

Ms. Clapham, currently a senior at Harvard College, is a student researcher in the laboratory of Richard Losick, where she has been studying Bacillus subtilis since her freshman year. In 2006, she was co-author of a publication in Molecular Microbiology about the localization of the protein SpoVM, an unusually small peptide during the developmental process of spore formulation. Ms. Clapham is currently taking a genetic approach to gather more information about the function of SpoVM. In the summer and fall of 2006, she worked in the laboratory of Diego de Mendoza, an International Scholar of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, in Rosario, Argentina, where she carried out research on genes involved in lipid catabolism during sporulation in B. subtilis. This research was funded by the Herchel Smith Harvard Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. In 2007, Ms. Clapham was awarded a Microbial Sciences Initiative Undergraduate Research Fellowship to support her thesis research. Currently, she is taking a genetic approach to gather more information about the function of SpoVM.

The Raymond W. Sarber 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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Contact: Garth Hogan
American Society for Microbiology

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