for research on infectious disease
The Ellison Medical Foundation in Bethesda, Maryland, has named three Yale investigators as 2004 Senior Scholars in Global Infectious Disease.
The Yale scientists were among 10 scholars nationwide to receive the honors. They are: Jorge Galán, the Lucille P. Markey Professor of Microbiology and chair of the Section of Microbial Pathogenesis at the School of Medicine; John Carlson, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology; and Ruslan Medzhitov, professor of immunobiology at the School of Medicine. Each scholar will receive nearly $1 million in research support over four years.
"The Ellison Senior Scholar Awards are greatly coveted, both for their prestige and for their generous terms of support," says Provost Andrew Hamilton. "I am absolutely delighted by the success of our faculty in this year's selection process."
Medical School Dean Dr. Robert Alpern adds: "The Ellison Medical Foundation has encouraged leading investigators to press forward with some of the most innovative and exciting work on infectious disease. It will be a tremendous boost to Yale's research effort on infectious disease to have these distinguished scientists working as Ellison Senior Scholars."
Galán will focus his research on the bacteria Campylobacter jejuni, one of the most common causes of gastrointestinal infection worldwide. Known for his groundbreaking work on Salmonella infection, Galán will investigate the molecular and cellular biology of interactions between Campylobacter and host cells.
Medzhitov will examine the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which immune system responses to one infectious agent affect the body's defenses against other, concurrent infections. Medzhitov is a pioneer of research on innate immunity, defenses that are present at birth, rather than generated adaptively by the immune system in response to specific pathogens.
Carlson will explore new approaches to the design of repellants and traps for disease-carrying insects. One of the most effective means of controlling insect-borne diseases has been to control the insects that carry them, and Carlson's team will apply its recent advances in understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of insect olfaction, or sense of smell, an area in which he is a leading authority.
This year's trio brings to eight the number of Yale scientists who have been named Ellison Senior Scholars in Global Infectious Disease or in Aging. Richard Flavell, Sterling Professor and chair of the Section of Immunobiology, was selected as an Ellison Senior Scholar in Global Infectious Disease last year. The foundation presented the first Ellison Senior Scholar Awards in Aging in 1998 and the first Senior Scholar Awards in Global Infectious Disease two years later.
The Ellison Medical Foundation was established in 1997 through the generosity of Lawrence J. Ellison, chief executive officer of Oracle. According to its mission statement, the foundation "supports basic biomedical research, research training, and related scientific activities through programs on aging and on infectious diseases of global health importance" with particular emphasis on "new, creative research that might not be funded by traditional sources or that is often under-funded in the U.S."
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