Best Oral Presentation for Molecular Virology Session
Dr. Joe Wang presented "Unveiling the Structure of dsDNA in HBV through cryoEM" at this year's 2024 International HBV Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. The conference awarded him the "Best Oral Presentation for Molecular Virology Session."
2024 Junior Faculty Teaching Award
Dr. S. Rameeza Allie is this year’s recipient of the Junior Faculty Teaching Award.
The Junior Faculty Teaching Award recipients are selected by the Society of Distinguished Educators as a means of recognizing the accomplishments of some of the outstanding junior faculty who are already making an impact on the educational mission. Recipients of this award are program leaders, instructional designers, education scholars and, above all, great teachers. This award is arguably the most competitive educational award available through the College of Medicine.
In addition to receiving the Junior Faculty Teaching Award, Allie has also been appointed a member of the Committee on the Status of Women with The American Association of Immunologists. The committee is responsible for generating and developing programs that assure equal treatment of all professional immunologists on the basis of merit. The committee focuses on enhancing career opportunities that advance the involvement and recognition of women immunologists in the scientific community.
Dr. Allie has also received the 2023-2024 Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching. This award was established in 2008 to recognize members of the faculty who made outstanding contributions to medical and graduate education at Penn State College of Medicine over the past year. Recipients were nominated by department chairs, vice deans and program directors.
Courtney Award
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology is excited to announce the winners of this years' Courtney Awards, Kalynn Alexander and Elise Rizzi.
The Courtney Award is presented at fall convocation to PhD candidates who have passed their comprehensive examination and who have demonstrated an outstanding record of academic achievement during their graduate studies within the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. A committee of department faculty will consider candidates each year to assess whether any students have reached this exceptional level of excellence. The students will receive a certificate and cash award.
Alumni Society Award
Graduate students Alexander Pham and Katelyn Ayers are this years’ Alumni Society Award recipients.
This award was created as a scholarship based on leadership. It is granted to graduate students who have demonstrated potential for future achievements in their field. They also are active in community affairs and campus activities, and achieved academic distinction.
2024 FASEB Virus Structure and Assembly Meeting
Dr. Joe Wang was a co-organizer for this year's FASEB Virus Structure and Assembly Meeting in Southbridge, Mass. This meeting covers topics and methodologies such as viral genomics, new anti-viral treatments, emerging viruses and pandemic readiness.
2024 Dr. Neil Christensen Student Research Fund
Kalynn Alexander has been selected to receive funding from the 2024 Dr. Neil Christensen Student Research Fund for her project "Development of a Mouse Polymavirus VP1 Monoclonal Antibody to Investigate Viral Trafficking."
This fund aims to enrich medical or graduate student research projects at Penn State College of Medicine by providing support for the development or purchase of monoclonal antibodies to be used in student research. The fund provides an excellent opportunity for students to pursue their research interests while enhancing their skills in the development of monoclonal antibodies.
Immunology 2024 Meeting Presentations
Juliana Restrepo, a graduate student in Dr. S. Rameeza Allie's laboratory, was invited to present her poster titled; "B cell derived IL-1b is required for germinal center function" at this year's Immunology Meeting held in Chicago, Illinois.
Arrienne Butic, a graduate student in Dr. Aron Lukacher's laboratory, was also invited to present her talk titled; "PD-1 mediates brain resident memory T cell formation and virus control" at this year's Immunology Meeting held in Chicago, Illinois.
