MILSTEIN YOUNG INVESTIGATOR AWARDS

Dr. Mendoza is an Assistant Professor of Molecular Engineering in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago. The Mendoza Group is highly multidisciplinary utilizing expertise in structural and computational biology, cell signaling, and protein engineering to study human disease and drive the discovery of novel therapeutics. One focus is on cell signaling in relation to the immune system and understanding how ligand-cell receptor driven responses can be used to treat diseases such as viral infections, cancer, or autoimmunity. A second focus of the Mendoza laboratory is building computational and engineering tools to accelerate the structural determination of ligand-receptor complexes and design of protein therapeutics as exemplified by his work on the IFN lambda (Immunity, 2017) and IFN gamma systems (Nature, 2019).

Sarah Doyle

Sarah Doyle PhD, Assistant Professor in Immunology, Dept. Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine,
JF Coordinator for BSc in Human Health and Disease, TBSI, Head of Immunobiology Research Group, Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience (TCIN), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Dr. Doyle’s research lab is focused on the impact of signalling downstream of the innate immune Toll/IL-1 Receptor (TIR)-super family in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis and the initiation of pathology. This family recognizes and responds to host derived danger signals and includes the IL-1 family cytokine receptors IL-1R and IL-18R. One aspect of her research is focused on studying how TIR-induced signaling regulates both inherited and acquired retinal degenerative disease, and in particular how IL-18 controls pathological neovascularisation in Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

Juan Fuxman Bass

Dr. Fuxman Bass is an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at Boston University. His overarching scientific goals are to elucidate the underlying principles governing cytokine regulation. In particular, his lab focuses on delineating the gene regulatory networks involved in cytokine transcription and identifying novel transcription factors involved in this process by integrating multiple omics approaches. In addition, his lab studies the role of virally-encoded transcription factors in modulating gene expression as a mechanism of viral immune evasion. His work has been funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and by the National Institutes of Health through the K99/R00, R35, and U01 mechanisms.

Yuxin Wang

Yuxin Wang, PhD, Research Associate, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, USA Yuxin Wang, PhD is a Research Associate in the Department of Cancer Biology at Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Wang received his doctoral degree from the...

Ryan A. Langlois

Ryan A. Langlois, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dept of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA Ryan Langlois is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Minnesota. He earned his Ph.D....

Milstein Young Investigator Awards: ICIS members who have received a Ph.D or M.D. within the previous 10 years are eligible for this Award. Every year up to five awards are granted to individuals (must be ICIS Members) who have made notable contributions to either basic or clinical research. These awards are $1,500 each, the funds provided by a generous gift of the Milstein Family as well as commemorative plaques.

Applications or Nominations for a Milstein Young Investigator Award, should include the following:

Cytokines 2019 Submitted Abstract with submission ID as downloaded from the online abstract submission site, (to include the Cytokines 2019 Abstract Submission ID). The Young Investigator award applicant/nominee must be 1st Author on the Cytokines 2019 abstract.
An abbreviated CV (max. one page) together with a letter of recommendation detailing the accomplishments of the nominee (including confirmation of eligibility) should be uploaded here as a combined PDF document:

Cristina Bergamaschi, PhD

Cristina Bergamaschi, Ph.D. Staff Scientist, Human Retrovirus Pathogenesis Section, Vaccine Branch National Cancer Institute Cristina Bergamaschi, Ph.D. is a molecular immunologist and vaccine biologist who has specialized in the development of immunomodulatory...

Ricardo Rajsbaum, PhD

Ricardo Rajsbaum, PhDAssistant ProfessorDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology University of Texas Medical Branch Ricardo Rajsbaum, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston,...

Vijay Rathinam, DVM, PhD

Vijay A. K. Rathinam, DVM, PhD Assistant Professor, Immunology UConn Health Dr. Vijay Rathinam is An Assistant Professor of Immunology and the Associate Director of Immunology Graduate Program at UConn Health School of Medicine. He received his Doctorate of Veterinary...

Greg Sonnenberg, PhD

Greg Sonnenberg, PhD Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology in Medicine Weil Cornell, New York City, USA Dr. Sonnenberg completed his doctoral research training at the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, focusing on mucosal immunology....

Munir Akkaya, MD, PhD

Munir Akkaya, MD, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, NIAID, NIH Dr. Munir Akkaya received his MD degree from Hacettepe University, Turkey in 2007 and D.Phil (PhD) degree from the University of Oxford in 2012. During his undergraduate education, he was awarded with a Scholarship...

Ari B. Molofsky, PhD

Assistant Professor Department of Laboratory Medicine University of California San Francisco Principal Investigator Ari Molofsky received a BS in Molecular Biology from the University of Texas in 1999 and completed his MD/PhD at the University of Michigan in 2007. His...

Tatsuma Ban, PhD

Assistant Professor Department of Immunology Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine Yokohama City, Japan Dr. Ban received his Ph.D. in 2012 from the University of Tokyo, Japan under the mentorship of Prof. Tadatsugu Taniguchi. During his Ph.D. course, he...

Christian Kanstrup Holm, PhD

Associate professor Department of Biomedicine Aarhus University Denmark Christian Kanstrup Holm received his PhD in December 2009 from Faculty of Health Sciences at Aarhus University. Christian completed his postdoc work in the laboratory of professor Søren R....

Kiyoshi Hirahara, PhD

Associate Professor Department of Immunology Graduate School of Medicine Chiba University, Chiba, JAPAN Dr. Hirahara graduated from Niigata University school of Medicine in 2001. He was engaged in clinical practice as a physician, specifically in respiratory medicine...

Andreas Bergthaler

Principal Investigator CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine Austrian Academy of Sciences Vienna, Austria Dr. Bergthaler studied veterinary medicine at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna and performed his graduate studies at the Institute of...

Vineet D. Menachery

Post-doctoral Fellow Laboratory of Ralph Baric Department of Epidemiology Gillings School of Global Public Health University of North Carolina Dr. Vineet D. Menachery received his B.S. in Microbiology from Clemson University in 2004 and his Ph.D. in Immunology from...

Di Yu

Senior Research Fellow Head of Laboratory for Molecular Immunomodulation Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department of Medicine (joint) Monash University Australia Dr. Yu came to Australia in 2003 to study Immunology with Prof. Carola Vinuesa and...

Si Ming Man

Postdoctoral Fellow St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Memphis, Tennessee, USA Dr. Man received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, UK, for his work on inflammasomes in the host defense against Salmonella infection. He is an Australian National Health and...

Dusan Bogunovic

Assistant Professor Dept. of Microbiology Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York, NY Dr. Dusan Bogunovic obtained his PhD at NYU School of Medicine, NY, NY, USA in Molecular Oncology and Immunology. During my PhD training, he examined examined the function...

Daniel J. Gough

Centre for Cancer Research Hudson Institute of Medical Research Clayton, Australia Dr. Gough is a biochemist and cancer biologist and group leader of the STAT Cancer Biology lab at the Hudson Institute and Monash University. He was awarded a Ph.D from the University...

Shuvojit Banerjee

Lerner Research Inst Cleveland Clinic Foundation Dept of Cancer Biology Cleveland, OH Dr. Shuvojit Banerjee received his PhD in Biotechnology from the Dr.B.C.Guha Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Calcutta (India) in 2008. He then went to...

Aoi Akitsu

Tokyo University of Science Univ of Tokyo Inst of Medical Science Noda-shi, Chiba Japan Dr. Aoi Akitsu is an immunologist and a postdoctoral fellow at Tokyo University of Science, Japan. Her research has been focused on the cellular and molecular mechanism of the...

Dominic De Nardo

Institute of Innate Immunity University Hospital University of Bonn Dr Dominic De Nardo received his PhD in 2009 from the University of Melbourne, Australia, where he developed a keen interest in macrophages and the innate immune system while working on mechanisms of...

Stacy Horner

Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC Dr. Stacy Horner is currently an Assistant Professor in the Molecular Genetics & Microbiology and Medicine departments at Duke University Medical Center. She received her Ph.D. in 2007...

Maria Liaskos

Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases MIMR-PHI Institute of Medical Research Melbourne, Australia Dr Maria Kaparakis-Liaskos obtained her Ph.D from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne in 2005, under the supervision...

Seth Masters

Inflammation Division The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Victoria, Australia Dr Masters completed his PhD at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI), which resulted in the first structure of the SPRY/B30.2 domain. In 2006 Dr Masters started a postdoc with Dan...

Kate Schroder