Contact: James Carskadon
STARKVILLE, Miss.—A San Diego State University professor of microbiology and immunology is the 2017 recipient of a Mississippi State University award named for a longtime biological sciences faculty member.
Kelly Doran, who has made significant contributions to understanding host-pathogen interactions within the central nervous system, was presented with the Dr. Lewis Brown Lectureship Award on Friday [Feb. 3].
The honor was established as a perpetual tribute to Brown by the biological sciences department and student chapter of the American Society for Microbiology. Brown, professor emeritus in the department, pioneered the fields of environmental microbiology and bioremediation. Every year, the MSU American Society of Microbiology Student Chapter gives the award to an internationally recognized microbiologist who has made major contributions to the field.
Doran has been a faculty member at SDSU since 2003 and also is an adjunct professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego. She has received numerous awards for research, teaching and mentorship, and is serving a two-year term as an American Society for Microbiology Distinguished Lecturer. Doran’s research has been funded through external sources continuously for over ten years, which includes four active grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health.
Doran’s lab at SDSU studies host-pathogen interactions in the central nervous and the female reproductive tract. For more on the lab’s work, visit www.doranlab.com.
“In recognition of her vast research accomplishments and dedication to training new scientists, we are honored to present the fourth annual Dr. Lewis Brown Lectureship Award to Dr. Kelly Doran,” MSU American Society for Microbiology Student Chapter President Cati Cowick said.
As part of the award presentation, Doran presented a lecture titled “Mechanism of Blood Brain Barrier Penetration by Group B Streptococcus” to a capacity crown in the Harned Hall auditorium. Lewis Brown Jr. presented the award on behalf of his father.
For more about MSU’s biological sciences department, visit www.biology.msstate.edu.
Information on the ASM student chapter is found at www.facebook.com/msstateasm or by emailing msuasm@yahoo.com. The chapter is advised by Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Justin Thornton.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.