Nominations Sought for Honorary Lifetime Members, Young Investigator,
Greisman, Nowotny, and Gioannini Women in Science Awards
~ Nominations Also Sought for IEIIS Officers and Councilors ~
Deadline for all nominations is June 15, 2018
All nominations should be sent to Dr. Egil Lien, IEIIS President, at egil.lien@umassmed.edu
Honorary Lifetime Memberships:
An important part of every IEIIS conference is the selection of two distinguished investigators to receive Honorary Lifetime Memberships in the Society for outstanding career contributions to the knowledge and understanding of bacterial endotoxins and innate immunity. Recipients of this honor receive an attractive award and are granted a permanent exemption from dues and meeting registration fees, while retaining all the rights and privileges of active membership. Nominations for Honorary Lifetime Membership (HLM) are now being requested for consideration at the Chandler, Arizona USA meeting. The nomination should include a description of the nominee’s contributions and achievements in the areas of endotoxin and/or innate immunity research.
Young Investigator Awards:
In addition to honoring scientists for lifetime contributions to endotoxin and/or innate immunity research, the IEIIS also offers two awards which recognize the achievements of promising young scientists at the start of their careers. All nominees must be members of the Society at the time of their nomination. Young Investigator Awards are given to pre- or post-doctoral students who are less than 35 years old and who are presenting a poster at the IEIIS. Nominations for this award must be made by the nominee’s research advisor.
Nowotny Award:
The Nowotny Award is given to a “young investigator who has shown excellence in research, made a significant contribution to the study of endotoxins, shows potential for further scientific development, and whose research is close to that pursued by Dr. Alois Nowotny. Nominating letters should describe the contributions of the nominees that merit consideration for this award.
Greisman Award:
The Greisman Award, first given in 2012, was made to honor Sheldon Greisman, M.D. whose contributions helped provide a foundation for understanding host responses to endotoxin. Many of his observations provided a conceptual basis for current clinical innate and adaptive immunity research. The award will be given to an investigator (M.D. or Ph.D.) in the clinical or basic sciences who has made substantial and original contributions which have led to an increased understanding of the interactions between microorganisms and innate immunity. Particular emphasis will be placed on translational research that provides new opportunities and directions for the development of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Nominating letters should describe the contributions of the nominees that merit consideration for this award.
Frederik B. Bang Award:
The Frederik B. Bang Award was established by the Stanley Watson Foundation to recognize a substantial body of significant research accomplishment by an outstanding senior investigator, whose contributions to the endotoxin field extend over many years. The award is generously supported in perpetuity by an endowment from the Trustees of the Stanley Watson Foundation. The award honors Frederick B. Bang (1916-1981), a remarkable biomedical investigator at The John Hopkins University School of Medicine. In his endeavors, Dr. Bang often made use of marine organisms to gain insights into biological phenomenon of clinical significance. In addition to his interest in bacterial endotoxins, Dr. Bang had broad research interests in other areas of host defense including hepatitis and parasitic diseases. Nominating letters should describe the contributions of the nominees that merit consideration for this award.
Gioannini Women in Science Award:
Our newest travel award was established in memory of Dr. Theresa L.Gioannini: scientist, teacher, mentor, wife, and mother extraordinaire. Dr. Gioannini worked closely on details of LPS interactions and signaling via CD14, TLR4-MD2 and other molecules through many years. These studies really advanced the field in terms of understanding the biology of these signaling complexes. A foundation was created in her memory; the foundation, in cooperation with IEIIS, provides support for outstanding women in science for scientific meetings. The awards will be used to support the attendance and participation of women graduate students, post-docs, and junior faculty at IEIIS-sponsored meetings. Nominating letters should describe the contributions of the nominees that merit consideration for this award.
IEIIS Officers:
Finally, we need to elect officers for the 2018-2020 term. Koichi Fukase, the current President-Elect, will need a President from America, the site for the 2020 meeting of the Society. In addition to the other officers -- Secretary and Treasurer -- we will elect four Councilors (one each from Microbiology, Pathology, Chemistry, and Immunology) to succeed the outgoing Councilors. Please let us know if you wish to be considered for office by the nominating committee and/or whether you wish to nominate another member. Nominees must be members of the Society in good standing, ie dues are current.
Past recipients of all awards may be viewed on the www.IEIIS.org website.
I would like to strongly urge the membership to encourage colleagues, particularly young scientists who are not members, to join the Society. In addition to their joining the ranks of a global fellowship of distinguished colleagues in advancing scientific excellence, members receive a registration discount and become eligible for travel awards to the meeting. Potential members will find easy directions for joining the Society on our website at www.IEIIS.org.
