BioVision Lilly Award names winners
Four young scientists living and working in a developing country take the accolades
The winners were selected from among 40 entries by an international jury, chaired by Jacob Palis, president of TWAS, and professor at the Instituto Nacional de Matemática Pura e Aplicada in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Digby Warner, senior research officer, MRC/NHLS/UCT Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit, University of Cape Town, South Africa won the 2011 BioVision Lilly Award for his work on mycobacterial metabolism, which promises to have a major impact on understanding the development of drug-resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
The runner-up was Thomas Scriba, senior researcher, South African TB Vaccine Initiative, University of Cape Town, who was honoured for his work on TB vaccines.
The first- and second-place winners received US$5,000 and US$2,000, respectively, to continue their research.
Dihandenys Lemus, Tuberculosis National Reference Laboratory in Havana, Cuba and Joy Sarojini Michael, Christian Medical College of Vellore, India were joint third. Lemus was honoured for her work in drug-resistant tuberculosis and Michael for her research in new TB diagnostics.
‘We have been impressed with the quality of the competition and especially the winners,’ said Bart Peterson, senior vice-president, corporate affairs and communication, Eli Lilly and Company.
‘TB largely afflicts the developing world and I’m heartened to see that young developing world scientists are taking their position at the forefront of global research being carried out into this debilitating disease.’
In 2009 more than nine million people became ill with TB and some 1.7 million died of the disease. The number of new cases arising each year is still increasing in Africa, Eastern Mediterranean and South-East Asia.
You may also like
Research & Development
Applied Biopharm Consulting awarded Innovation funding to validate AI-powered AAV vector engineering platform
Irish biotech consultancy Applied Biopharm Consulting has secured an Innovation Voucher from the Local Enterprise Office Cork North & West to collaborate with an academic partner in validating its computational platform for adeno-associated virus vector optimisation through laboratory testing
Research & Development
Phesi analysis finds 6.7% of global clinical trials affected by Middle East disruption
A Phesi analysis of more than 65,000 active clinical trials has found that 4361 studies are impacted by Middle East disruption, with Phase III oncology trials most exposed and all top ten global pharma companies holding significant investigator site presence in affected countries
Manufacturing
Degasser for volatile and aggressive solvents
Biotech Fluidics announce the DEGASi Integration HFIP - a high-performance online system designed to efficiently degas even the toughest solvents. This unique degasser is fully compatible with a wide range of volatile and aggressive liquids including Hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) and silanes but can also manage all other solvents used for GPC/SEC and HPLC
Research & Development
Symeres joins forces with Ambagon Therapeutics to expand molecular glue research in colorectal cancer
The pair will aim to explore a new class of small molecules, known as molecular glues, for potential therapeutic use in colorectal cancer and other hard-to-target diseases as an alternative to traditional therapies
Research & Development
University of Exeter leads £4.5m Wellcome-funded initiative to develop bioimaging tools for fungal pathogens
An international collaboration spanning the universities of Exeter, Edinburgh and Cape Town has secured £4.5m to develop specialist bioimaging tools for WHO-priority fungal pathogens