Contact: Sasha Steinberg

STARKVILLE, Miss.—An internationally renowned virologist is this year’s selection for a Mississippi State award named for a longtime biological sciences faculty member at the university.

Vincent Racaniello, Higgins Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Columbia University, was recently on campus to receive the third annual Dr. Lewis Brown Lectureship Award.

The honor was established as a perpetual tribute to Brown by the biological sciences department and student chapter of the American Society for Microbiology.

A doctoral graduate of New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine (now Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai), Racaniello primarily investigates the interaction of viruses with innate immune systems, viral pathogenesis and viral discoveries in wild animals. For more, visit www.microbiology.columbia.edu/faculty/racaniello.html.

While on campus, he led a research seminar on picornaviruses, cause of a range of human diseases that include paralysis, conjunctivitis and the common cold, among others.

In presenting the award, MSU assistant professor Justin Thornton praised Racaniello as a “leader in the fields of virology and microbiology who possesses the same enthusiasm our students have to share the wonders of science with society.

“His passion for science, teaching and mentorship mirror the endearing qualities of Dr. Brown,” the ASM chapter adviser added.

Also on the program were:

—Biological sciences/microbiology master’s student and chapter president Amber D. Thompson of Pelham, Alabama, who thanked Racaniello for “inspiring us to pursue important research opportunities;” and

—Treasurer Lindsey R. Brown of Biloxi, a biological sciences/microbiology doctoral student who recognized Racaniello for being “a trailblazer in the field of virology,” citing his “fresh approaches to spread knowledge to the scientific community and beyond” through blogs, podcasts and Twitter.

For more about MSU’s biological sciences department, visit www.biology.msstate.edu. Thornton may be reached at 662-325-8020 or thornton@biology.msstate.edu.

Information on the ASM student chapter is found at www.facebook.com/msstateasm or by emailing msuasm@yahoo.com.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.