Two NIH Investigators Receive Salzman Award
In December, two NIH’ers received the Norman P. Salzman Memorial Award in Basic and Clinical Virology and delivered talks about their research during a ceremony in Lipsett Amphitheater.
The Salzman Memorial Awards, presented by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) and now in their 26th year, recognize outstanding young researchers in the field of basic and/or clinical virology.
Dr. Nagela Ghabdan Zanluqui, the postdoctoral awardee, works in the viral immunology and intravital imaging section of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Her research uncovered a new lymphoid structure in the dura mater, called the rostral-rhinal venolymphatic hub. Zanluqui showed that this structure helps the central nervous system fight off viruses by producing specialized antibodies. This discovery highlights how the brain has organized defenses at its borders to protect against infection.
The postbaccalaureate awardee, Walker Symonds-Orr, works in the Laboratory of Viral Diseases in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. His research explored how Enterovirus A71 tolerates genetic changes like insertions and deletions, especially in the capsid region. He found that the virus has limited flexibility for such changes, which affects its evolution. He also developed tools to label and study viral proteins, helping to better understand their roles during infection.
These awards honor the 40-year career of Dr. Norman P. Salzman in virology research and his accomplishments in mentoring young scientists.