News Release

John Alderete honored with 2004 William A. Hinton Award

Grant and Award Announcement

American Society for Microbiology

WASHINGTON, DC--APRIL 23, 2004--John F. Alderete, Ph.D., will receive the 2004 William A. Hinton Research Training Award from the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). Given in memory of William A. Hinton, a physician-research scientist and one of the first African-Americans to join ASM, the award recognizes Alderete for his outstanding efforts in encouraging members of underrepresented minorities to achieve their educational and professional goals.

Currently, Alderete is Professor, Department of Microbiology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, and cofounder of the biotechnology firm Xenotope Diagnostics, Inc., in San Antonio. A widely accomplished teacher who has worked tirelessly with students at all levels of education and professional training, Alderete has garnered impressive results in his work with students from underrepresented minority groups. He has mentored dozens of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and undergraduates who have gone on to successful academic and professional careers. He has also worked closely with high-school interns, medical students, and visiting researchers on more informal bases, offering his expertise and advice.

Outside the laboratory, Alderete has devoted countless hours to encouraging pre-college-age students to consider a career in science, through a host of programs including weekend laboratory tours, career days, and summer institutes. Particularly successful are the Saturday morning science programs he has conducted in Texas for nearly 15 years for minority students and their parents and teachers. In addition to introducing these young students to science as a highly successful Hispanic scientist and educator, he serves as an important role model for young people.

Alderete has also worked to maximize diversity in science at all professional levels. Past president of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), Alderete frequently addresses national and regional groups on health care and diversity issues. He is a longtime member of ASM's Minority Education Task Committee and serves on the Minority Business Resource Advisory Committee at the National Aeronautic and Space Administration. He lends his expertise to the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and other groups as a consultant on minority recruitment and retention and issues of health and diversity.

An elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, Alderete earned B.S. degrees in mathematics and biology at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, and his Ph.D. in microbiology at the University of Kansas, Lawrence. He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

The William A. Hinton Research Training Award will be presented at the104th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), May 23–27, 2004, in New Orleans, Louisiana. ASM is the largest single life science society, composed of over 42,000 scientists, teachers, physicians, and health professionals. Its mission is to promote research and training in the microbiological sciences and to assist communication between scientists, policymakers, and the public to improve health, economic well-being, and the environment.

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