LOS ANGELES (Sept. 13, 2011) - Ashraf Ibrahim, Ph.D., principal investigator at LA BioMed who specializes in infectious diseases, was recently honored by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and the ICAAC Program Committee in the area of Therapy and Prevention of Microbial Disease. The Program Committee Award presented by ICAAC (Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy) recognizes Dr. Ibrahim's work with Acinetobacter baumannii, as outlined in an abstract entitled "Murine Inhalational Pneumonia Models of Acinetobacter baumannii: Colistin Versus Impenem Therapy." Dr. Ibrahim will be honored at the conference which is being held Sept. 17-20, 2011 in Chicago, Ill., the site of the 51st annual ICAAC.
Dr. Ibrahim is studying the severity of and therapeutic interventions against A. baumannii, which has emerged as one of the most common and highly antibiotic-resistant causes of infection. A. baumannii infections in patients with cancer or neutropenia have widely been described, with diabetes posing as a risk factor for the acquisition of, and worse outcomes, from A. baumannii infection.
"We congratulate Dr. Ibrahim on this well-deserved honor and prestigious award," said David I. Meyer, Ph.D., President and CEO of LA BioMed. "To be singled out among so many in his field is a testament to the vital contributions Dr. Ibrahim has made, and continues to make, in the area of infectious diseases."
ICAAC is the largest meeting of infectious diseases experts, with more than 10,000 attendees each year. The objectives of the conference are to meet the needs of health care professionals - particularly physicians, clinical microbiologists, researchers, and pharmacists - specializing in infectious diseases. Topics to be discussed include antimicrobial resistance, community-acquired infections, HIV/AIDS retroviruses, microbial pathogenesis, nosocomial infections, and vaccines and immunology, among others.
About the American Society for Microbiology
The American Society for Microbiology, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the largest single life science association, with approximately 40,000 members worldwide. Its members work in educational, research, industrial, and government settings on issues such as the environment, the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, laboratory and diagnostic medicine, and food and water safety. The ASM's mission is to advance the microbiological sciences as a vehicle for understanding life processes and to apply and communicate this knowledge for the improvement of health and environmental and economic well-being worldwide.
About LA BioMed
Founded in 1952, LA BioMed is one of the country's leading nonprofit independent biomedical research institutes. It has approximately 130 principal researchers conducting studies into improved treatments and cures for cancer, inherited diseases, infectious diseases, illnesses caused by environmental factors and more. It also educates young scientists and provides community services, including immunization and childhood nutrition programs. LA BioMed is academically affiliated with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and located on the campus of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. For more information, please visit www.LABioMed.org