Washington, DC—June 25, 2008— The 2008 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) ICAAC Young Investigator Award will be presented to Eric Skaar, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee. Sponsored by Merck, U.S. Human Health Division, this award recognizes early career scientists for excellence in research in microbiology and infectious diseases.
While a graduate student at Northwestern, Dr. Skaar focused on the molecular mechanisms of antigenic variation in the Gram-negative pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae. His research described novel systems used by N. gonorrhoeae to combat the oxidative stress response of the host
Dr. Skaar completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago, where he studied Gram-positive infections. He was able to characterize a previously unrecognized system used by Staphylococcus aureus to transport iron across the cell wall. During this time, he also pioneered the use of Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) to measure bacterial nutrient acquisition in vivo. His use of ICP-MS led to the discovery that S. aureus preferentially acquires iron from heme during infection.
Dr. Skaar received his B.S. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He then received his M.P.H. in Biostatistics and Epidemiology and his Ph.D. in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis, both from Northwestern University. He is a Burroughs Wellcome Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases and a Searle Scholar.
The ICAAC Young Investigator Award will be presented during ASM's 48th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy/46th IDSA Annual Meeting, October 25 – October 28, 2008 in Washington, DC. ASM is the world's oldest and largest life science organization and has more than 43,000 members worldwide. ASM's mission is to advance the microbiological sciences and promote the use of scientific knowledge for improved health and economic and environmental well-being.