Washington, DCJune 6, 2012 Anthony R. Richardson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of North Carolina Hill School of Medicine, has been honored with one of two 2012 Merck Irving S. Sigal Memorial Awards. These awards, given annually to two young scientists to recognize and award excellence in basic research in medical microbiology and infectious diseases, are presented in memory of Irving S. Sigal, an instrumental figure in the early discovery of therapies to treat HIV/AIDS. "Richardson is a remarkably imaginative scientist whose work bridges microbial physiology, metabolism, and pathogenesis," states his nominator, William Goldman from the University of North Carolina. "His approach is interdisciplinary and mechanistic, and his work has profound implications for understanding the evolution and emergence of highly virulent pathogens."
Richardson received his B.S. in genetic and bioengineering from Purdue University, and his Ph.D. in microbiology and molecular genetics from Emory University. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship in bacterial physiology and pathogenesis at the University of Washington, where he worked in the laboratory of Ferric Fang, who described Richardson as "extremely curious, interactive, and remarkably well readan exceedingly bright and creative scientist who is poised to make major contributions to the field of bacterial pathogenesis."
Richardson's research has always been focused on the role of basic bacterial physiology in the virulence of important human pathogens. As a graduate student, he investigated the role of DNA repair in modulating immune avoidance in epidemic meningococcal meningitis. His findings showed that the rapid host-to-host spread of Neisseria meningitidis in sub-Saharan Africa during seasonal epidemics selected for strains lacking certain aspects of DNA repair. Given the nature of N. menigitidis, this resulted in bacterial populations with extremely d
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| Contact: Garth Hogan ghogan@asmusa.org American Society for Microbiology Source:Eurekalert |
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