The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) has selected David Martinez from the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Duke University as a 2016-2019 award recipient of the ASM Robert D. Watkins Graduate Research Fellowship.
The Watkins fellowship seeks to increase the number of graduate students from underrepresented groups completing doctoral degrees in the microbiological sciences. The program is aimed at highly competitive students who are enrolled in a Ph.D. program and have completed their graduate coursework in the microbiological sciences. Fellows and their mentors are required to be members of ASM.
Fellows will be required to present at the ASM Microbe Meeting, (formerly known as the ASM General Meeting) annually if their abstract is accepted and attend an Education Board (EB) sponsored professional development program or participate in one of the webinar series one time during the three-year tenure of the fellowship.
This year, thirty-four applications were received and ten were awarded. Of the ten awardees, nine students are from doctoral/research universities and one student is from a specialized institution.
Dr. Sallie Permar is David Martinez's mentor. The title of the research is: Identifying key determinants of IgG transplacental transfer from HIV-infected mothers to their fetus.
The American Society for Microbiology is the largest single life science society, composed of over 48,000 scientists and health professionals. ASM's mission is to promote and advance the microbial sciences.
ASM advances the microbial sciences through conferences, publications, certifications and educational opportunities. It enhances laboratory capacity around the globe through training and resources. It provides a network for scientists in academia, industry and clinical settings. Additionally, ASM promotes a deeper understanding of the microbial sciences to diverse audiences.
Please visit http://www.asm.org/watkins for more information on the ASM Robert D. Watkins Graduate Research Program.