Newswise — The American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association (ASTDA), an organization devoted to the control and study of sexually transmitted diseases, will present the 2011 winners of the ASTDA Recognition Awards on July 13th at the 19th International Society for STD Research (ISSTDR) conference in Quebec City, Canada. ASTDA’s three prestigious achievement awards are presented annually to recognize outstanding scientists at different stages of their careers.
“In conferring these annual awards, the ASTDA strives to recognize high-impact, high-quality research in the field of sexually transmitted infections. The awardees this year made our job very easy, as all embody the commitment, intellect, and collegiality that are the hallmarks of our field,” said Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington and ASTDA President.
The Thomas Parran Award, presented to a member for long and distinguished contributions in the field of STD research and prevention, will be presented to Thomas C. Quinn, MD, MSc, Senior Investigator, Chief of the International HIV/STD Research Section of the Laboratory of Immunoregulation, and Associate Director for International Research at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. In addition, Dr. Quinn is a Professor of Medicine, Pathology, International Health, Epidemiology, and Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins University. He is the founding Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health, past President of the ASTDA, a member of the Institute of Medicine of the US National Academies of Science, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Quinn’s research has involved investigations on the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and clinical features of HIV/AIDS in more than 26 countries. His initial investigations documented the importance of STDs in facilitating the sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS both domestically and internationally. He demonstrated the unique importance of viral kinetics in the transmission of HIV perinatally and among discordant couples, with the subsequent design and application of interventions, including male circumcision and antiretroviral therapy, to prevent transmission of HIV. Through viral sequencing he has mapped the molecular evolution of the HIV epidemic on a global basis, linking virologic changes to the spread of HIV and demonstrating the inherent pathogenesis of various HIV subtypes. Dr. Quinn has been committed to the implementation of clinical care programs for HIV and STDs in developing countries and was a co-founder of the Academic Alliance for AIDS Care and Prevention in Africa.
The ASTDA Achievement Award is presented for a single recent major achievement in the field of STD research and prevention, or to a member at mid-career to acknowledge an outstanding body of research in sexually transmitted diseases. The 2011 Achievement Award will be presented to Connie Celum, MD, MPH, who is a Professor of Global Health and Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Washington. Dr. Celum’s research focus is HIV epidemiology and prevention trials of candidate biomedical interventions including HSV-2, pre-exposure prophylaxis, and combination HIV prevention. Dr. Celum was the Principal Investigator of a recently completed trial of HSV-2 suppression for prevention of HIV acquisition, and a trial of HSV-2 suppression in HIV+ partners in serodiscordant couples to reduce transmission and disease progression. The HSV-2/HIV trials were conducted in 20 sites in the US, Peru, Botswana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. She is the Principal Investigator of an ongoing trial of pre-exposure antiretroviral prophylaxis among HIV serodiscordant couples in 9 sites in Kenya and Uganda. In recognition that no single strategy will be fully protective, Dr. Celum is leading a collaborative effort to develop and evaluate a combination HIV prevention package in Uganda and South Africa, using the platform of home-based HIV testing with facilitated linkages to male circumcision, ART, and PMTCT.
The ASTDA Young Investigator Award, presented to an outstanding investigator in the field of STD research who is no more than five years beyond fellowship training, will be presented to Rebecca Brotman, PhD, MPH. Dr. Brotman is Assistant Professor, Epidemiology and Public Health at the Institute for Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Brotman has integrated her background and training in epidemiology and genomics to more effectively understand bacterial vaginosis (BV). The focus of her research is the behavioral and biological factors associated with the acquisition, remission, recurrence and persistence of BV. Dr. Brotman’s work has been instrumental in establishing that the vaginal microbiota is a highly dynamic environment, with rapid fluctuations. She has also conducted prospective studies of feminine hygiene practices, establishing the risk of BV causally associated with vaginal douching and the determinants for why women douche, the results of which are critical to developing douching intervention and prevention programs. She has advocated to medical and scientific communities to value the importance of bacterial vaginosis research in the obstetric and gynecologic health of women. She has helped her colleagues understand how lifestyle factors – hygiene, nutrition, sexual activity – can influence scientific research, and to help them continually redesign more effective research to improve women’s health.
For more information about the awards or about ASTDA, please see its website.
About ASTDAThe objectives of the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association are: To support the control, prevention and ultimate eradication of STD;To support research in all aspects of STD, including medical, epidemiologic, laboratory, social and behavioral studies;To support research in all aspects of STD, including medical, epidemiologic, laboratory, social and behavioral studies; To recognize outstanding contributions in STD control and prevention; To disseminate authoritative information concerning STD
About IGSThe Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine is an international research center dedicated to advancing the use of genomics to improve health and the environment. Led by Dr. Claire Fraser-Liggett, a preeminent genome scientist and microbiologist, IGS is located in downtown Baltimore. IGS scientists are pioneers in the expanding fields of genomics, bioinformatics and metagenomics. For more information, see the Institute’swebsite.
About Department of Global Health at the University of WashingtonThe Department of Global Health was launched in January 2007 with generous support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the state of Washington, and the University of Washington, with a mandate to harness the extraordinary expertise, energy, and creativity of faculty across all 17 UW schools and colleges to create one of the most comprehensive academic global health programs in the world. The pioneering work of UW researchers in sexually transmitted diseases in the 1970s and 1980s paved the way for the University’s leading role in HIV/AIDS research and training, and, now, in global health. For more information, see www.globalhealth.washington.edu.
About the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)NIAID conducts and supports research – at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide – to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. New releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website. NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about the NIH and its programs, visit its website.
About the Johns Hopkins Center for Global HealthThe Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health was founded in 2006 to help coordinate, facilitate and focus the extensive expertise and resources of the Johns Hopkins University, together with its global collaborators, to effectively address and ameliorate the world's most pressing health issues, including HIV/AIDS, STDs, malaria, tuberculosis, malnutrition, hepatitis and other threats to health. Currently over 380 faculty members are involved in 728 health related projects in 117 countries. For more information, see its website.
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