Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology Award & Scholarship
Earl H. Freimer Scholarship
A scholarship issued from an endowed fund established in the name of Earl H. Freimer that helps support M.D./Ph.D. students carrying out their research in the听Medical Microbiology and Immunology Track听(formerly Infection, Immunity & Transplantation).
Excellence in Microbiology & Immunology Award
An award was established in 1984 by the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology
from the Robert A. Stranahan Endowed Chair fund to recognize the student that achieved
the highest grade in the Immunity and Infectious Disease block. With the change in
curriculum, this block has now been split into two systems, one teaching Immunology
and the second teaching all aspects of Infectious Disease. Thus, the award has been
split into separate awards for each topic.
- Excellence in Immunity Award:
The Immunity course covers all of the aspects of Immunology, including the mechanisms that allow killing of infectious agents and cancerous growths, those involved in organ transplantation, and those that can become dysregulated to cause disease, such as allergies and asthma. This award is issued at graduation to the medical student who performed the best in the Immunity course during the first year in the curriculum. - Excellence in Infectious Disease Award:
The Infectious Disease course covers all of the aspects of microbes that can cause infectious disease, including viruses, bacteria, fungi and eukaryotic pathogens, as well as the therapies and vaccines used to treat and prevent these diseases. This award is issued at graduation to the medical student who performed the best in the Infectious Disease course during the first year in the curriculum.
MMI Graduate Student Awards
These awards were established听to encourage and increase听MMI graduate听student publications
and pre-doctoral fellowship submissions.听The听Department of Medical Microbiology and
Immunology established the MMIRSA, MMIRFA and MMIOGSA to MMI Track MSBS or Ph.D. students听who
have听a first-author research manuscript(s) accepted/published before their defense
and/or听have听pre-doctoral fellowship(s) funded听before their defense.听
1.听 MMIRSA (MMI Research Scholar Award): A student can be nominated for the MMIRSA award if they have a first-author research manuscript accepted/published before their defense. Award includes a certificate of recognition and $250.
2. MMIRFA (MMI Research Fellowship Award): A student can be nominated for the MMIRFA award for their receipt of a pre-doctoral fellowship before their defense. Pre-doctoral fellowships should be externally-funded with graduate student stipends and be at least one year in length. Award includes a certificate and $250.
3. MMIOGSA (MMI Outstanding Graduate Student Award): A student can be nominated for the MMIOGSA award based on the student鈥檚 research productivity, including but not limited to multiple first-author research publications and/or receiving pre-doctoral fellowship(s) before their defense. The awardee is selected by a committee. Award includes a certificate and $500.
Students may receive each award only once in the MMI graduate program.听 These awards can be issued yearly, at the beginning of the year, but do not have to be issued if there are no qualified students.
Awardee Announced听for听MMI Earl H. Freimer Award听for听Outstanding听M.D./Ph.D.听Student
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The Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology (MMI) has announced the 2024 recipient of the Earl H. Freimer, M.D., Ph.D., Award for Outstanding M.D./Ph.D. Student in Medical Microbiology and Immunology:听Justin Franco.
The Earl H. Freimer award is issued from an endowed fund established in the name of Earl H. Freimer, founding chair of the MMI Department, and founding Division Director of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine. The award recognizes Dr. Freimer's commitment to the intersection of medicine with research in immunology and infectious agents.听
This year鈥檚 awardee, Justin Franco, is in the lab of听Z. Kevin Pan, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of the department. Justin is (to date) first or co-first author on three publications (with a fourth having just been accepted). His focus is on understanding the signaling properties of retinoic acid and its potential as an anti-coronavirus therapeutic.听
The award comes with a monetary prize, from a fund generously endowed by Dr. Freimer鈥檚 family after his death.听
Congratulations to Justin and his dissertation advisor!
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Excellence in Immunology Award Recipient听 - AJAY NAIR
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Ajay Nair was selected to receive the Excellence in Immunity Award. The award recognizes the top-performing medical student in the Immunity system dueing the first year of the program. The award, presented at graduation, includes a certificate of recognition and an honorarium of $200.听
Ajay has also matched with Johns Hopkins University for residency training in Neurology. We congratulate Ajay on these significant achievements and wish him continued success in his medical career.听
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Excellence in Immunology Award Recipient听 - BENJAMIN HECK
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We are pleased to announce Benjamin Heck has received the Excellence in Infectious Disease Award, recognizing exceptional academic achievement in the Immunity system during the first year of the medical curriculum. The award was presented at graduation and includes a certificate and a $200 honorarium. Benjamin matched with the University of Toledo, and we wish him success as he advances in his medical training.听
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MMI Graduate Student Research Scholar Award Winners
UPASANA SHRESTHA
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Upasana is currently completing her doctoral training in the Medical Microbiology & Immunology (MMI) track. Working in the labs of Dr. David Kennedy & Dr. Steven Haller, her research focuses on听 understanding how environmental contaminants affect human health with an emphasis on inhalation exposure. Her findings have strengthened understanding of how combined environmental stressors influence human health. Click for more information on her work.
Mir Himayet Kabir
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Mir Himayet Kabir, Ph.D., graduated from the 淫妻社鈥檚 Biomedical Science Program. He did his doctoral work in the Medical Microbiology and Immunology (MMI) Track from 2020 to 2024. He worked on his dissertation with Dr. Travis Taylor, diving into tick-borne viral infections and how they affect our immune system.Dr. Kabir used cell-based infection models and molecular tests to break down how viruses interact with their hosts and how the immune system responds. His efforts are in line with what the 淫妻社 stands for, connecting the dots between basic science and public health issues.听
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