Congratulations to Jyothi Purushotham and Holly Lutz, two Andersen Lab postdoctoral researchers who recently received awards recognizing significant achievements in their respective areas of study.
Jyothi Purushotham, PhD, was awarded the International Biomedical Research Alliance’s Outstanding Recent Graduate Award, an honor that aims to recognize those who embody scientific innovation and collaboration through significant early career discoveries. As an NIH-Oxford Scholar, Jyothi’s doctoral thesis combined her substantial work in vaccine development for both Lassa fever and COVID-19. Through pivoting to focus on animal models for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine efficacy testing during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jyothi supplied data which played a key role in the initiation of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine clinical trials.
Jyothi joined Andersen Lab in February 2022, and her current work focuses on the immune response to viral pathogens, specifically applying systems biology tools to analyze and characterize immune dysregulation in post-infection syndromes.
Read more about Jyothi Purushotham’s research and the Outstanding Recent Graduate Award here.
Holly Lutz, PhD, was recognized for her accomplishments in Field Biology by the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation, an organization that aims to support natural scientists, artists, and educators. Holly joined Andersen Lab in March 2022 with a broad background and extensive experience in biodiversity, natural history and ecology. Her interdisciplinary research combines natural history collections with the use of molecular tools to study the ecology and evolution of microbial symbionts, parasites, and pathogens with a current focus on zoonotic viruses in bats and other small mammals throughout West Africa. Through her field work, Holly has discovered novel viruses– including novel coronaviruses – by examining wildlife that live near human habitats and agriculture. As a recipient of the Maxwell/Hanrahan Award in Field Biology, Holly was awarded $100,000 to support her future work and research endeavors.
Read more about Holly Lutz’s research and the Award in Field Biology here.
