LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK, Jan. 25,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Michelson Medical Research
Foundation and the Human Vaccines Project are pleased to announce
the winners of the 2021 Michelson Prizes: Next Generation
Grants.
The $150,000 grants are
awarded annually to early career innovators who apply disruptive
research to advance human immunology, vaccine discovery, and
immunotherapy.
The winners are Dr. Camila
Consiglio, postdoctoral researcher at Karolinska Institutet; Dr. Rong Ma,
postdoctoral fellow at Emory
University; and Dr. Nicholas
Wu, assistant professor at the University of Illinois.
The pandemic has provided a dramatic illustration of the
importance of cutting-edge research on human immunology and
vaccines.
"We need disruptive thinkers and doers who dare to change the
trajectory of the world for the better," says Dr. Gary Michelson, founder, and co-chair of the
Michelson Medical Research Foundation. "Yet promising young
researchers too often lack the opportunities, resources, and
freedom to explore their bold ideas. With the Michelson Prizes, we
aim to provide early-career investigators a vital boost for their
forward-thinking approaches."
The winners were selected by a committee of internationally
recognized scientists who reviewed their proposals.
"It is inspiring to see their passion for innovation and their
courage to think out of the box," said Dr. Wayne Koff, CEO and president of the Human
Vaccines Project. "I look forward to their future breakthrough
discoveries and how their research can contribute to the Human
Vaccines Project's mission of developing the first AI model of
human immunity."
The Michelson Prizes will be awarded March 10 at the HVP
Global Lab.
Applications open April 1. Click
here to learn more.
About the #MichelsonPrizes Winners
Camilia Consiglio,
Karolinska Institutet
Dr. Consiglio's research provides a novel approach to
understanding differences in human immune responses between sexes
by studying individuals undergoing sex-re-assignment therapy with
sex hormone treatment. Her research could offer insights on the
sex-differences in immune responses and help optimize vaccine
strategies and immunomodulatory therapies.
Rong Ma, Emory University
Dr. Ma's research is based on novel mechanotechnology which
measures and interprets the mechanical forces involved in the human
immune system, which could greatly advance personalized cancer
treatment.
Nicholas Wu, University of Illinois
Dr. Wu's research attempts to interpret the complexity of the
human antibody repertoire, by establishing a sequence-based
approach for epitope prediction. Dr. Wu's research sits at the
convergence of high-throughput biology, molecular biology,
structural immunology, and bioinformatics.
Press Contact:
Eddie
North-Hager / 213-220-1806
/ e.northhager@michelsonphilanthropies.org
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SOURCE Michelson Medical Research Foundation