SAN FRANCISCO, May 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS), on behalf of MedImmune, Inc. , will present the second annual MedImmune Career Development Award in Pediatric Infectious Disease to Suzanne Dawid, M.D., of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The award, which includes a $50,000 per year grant for up to three years, was established to support the development of outstanding physician-scientists as independent investigators in the field of pediatric infectious diseases. PIDS will present the award to Dr. Dawid on May 1 at a dinner coinciding with the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in San Francisco.
“We are very proud to sponsor this award for the second year,” said Frank Malinoski, M.D., vice president, medical affairs, infectious disease at MedImmune. “There is no better way to demonstrate our commitment to fighting pediatric infectious disease than to invest in the medical community in its quest to develop new breakthroughs in pediatric research and medicine.”
Dr. Dawid’s research focuses on the mechanisms of respiratory tract colonization by Streptococcus pneumoniae. Titled “Mechanisms of Intraspecies Competition in S. pneumoniae,” the goal of Dr. Dawid’s research project is to characterize basic host and bacterial factors that contribute to colonization of the respiratory tract by pneumococcus. The research also focuses on the roles of the capsule type pneumoniae and the bacterium’s ability to resist innate and adaptive immune defenses.
“Understanding how pneumococcus contributes to respiratory illness is a critical step in helping to develop appropriate interventions that can help protect children and ease the burden of devastating infectious disease,” said Dr. Dawid.
Dr. Dawid’s work is being conducted through Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with Dr. Jeffrey Weiser. She earned her medical degree at Washington University in St. Louis, and completed her residency in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where she has remained completing a pediatric infectious diseases fellowship from 2003 until the present.
About MedImmune, Inc.
MedImmune strives to provide better medicines to patients, new medical options for physicians, rewarding careers to employees, and increased value to shareholders. Dedicated to advancing science and medicine to help people live better lives, the company is focused on the areas of infectious diseases, cancer and inflammatory diseases. With more than 2,200 employees worldwide, MedImmune is headquartered in Maryland. For more information, visit the company’s website at http://www.medimmune.com.
MedImmune, Inc.
CONTACT: Media: Clarencia Stephen of MedImmune, Inc., +1-301-398-4073
Web site: http://www.medimmune.com/
