精品国产一区二区桃色

Member News

Orth, Tu, van der Donk receive HHMI pathogen awards

ASBMB Today Staff
April 24, 2023

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has announced that 精品国产一区二区桃色 members Kim Orth, Wilfred van der Donk and Benjamin Tu are among the 70 researchers who will receive awards as part of the HHMI’s Emerging Pathogens Initiative. These awards fund research to prepare for infectious diseases that could threaten human health. 

Kim Orth
Benjamin Tu
Wilfred van der Donk

Orth will receive $7 million over three years to work with a team of four assistant professors to identify fast-evolving virulence factors from clinically relevant pathogens. Tu and his team will receive $9.5 million over three years to research natural products that could be used to fight emerging pathogens. van der Donk and his team will receive $9.5 million over three years to research the avian and human antibody response to emerging influenza viruses. 

is a professor of molecular biology and biochemistry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Her lab focuses on the basic biochemical mechanisms that underlie bacterial infections with a focus on how bacteria such as Vibrio parahaemolyticus hijack and deregulate cellular signaling. Orth was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2020. She is an ASBMB fellow and won the 2019 ASBMB-Merck Award and the society’s 2012 Young Investigator Award. 

is a professor of biochemistry at UT Southwestern. His lab investigates how cellular processes such as cell growth and division, transcription, translation, mitochondrial homeostasis and autophagy coordinate the metabolic state of the cell. He was recently awarded the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award by the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering Science & Technology. Tu is a co-chair of the 2024 ASBMB annual meeting, Discover BMB, to be held in San Antonio.

is a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His lab uses synthetic organic chemistry and molecular biology to study enzymatic transformations with implications for the environment and pharmaceuticals. van der Donk was recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He served as a co-chair of the 2018 ASBMB annual meeting. 

HHMI is committing $100 million to this initiative to support basic research targeted at preparedness for emerging pathogens. 

“With this program, we hope to gain some of the knowledge and tools we need to get a scientific head start on future epidemics.” HHMI Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer Leslie Vosshall said in a .

Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?

Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.

Learn more
ASBMB Today Staff

This article was written by a member or members of the ASBMB Today staff.

Get the latest from ASBMB Today

Enter your email address, and we鈥檒l send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.

Latest in People

People highlights or most popular articles

Understanding the roles of extracellular matrix and vesicles in valvular disease
Profile

Understanding the roles of extracellular matrix and vesicles in valvular disease

Oct. 30, 2025

MOSAIC scholar Cassandra Clift uses mass spectrometry and multiomics to study cardiovascular calcification and collagen dysregulation, bridging her background in bioengineering and biology to investigate extracellular vesicles and heart disease.

Learning, leading and lifting others
Profile

Learning, leading and lifting others

Oct. 23, 2025

Tigist Tamir鈥檚 journey from aspiring astronaut in Ethiopia to cancer researcher at the University of North Carolina highlights the power of mentorship, persistence and curiosity in shaping a scientific career focused on discovery and equity.

Biochemists and molecular biologists sweep major 2025 honors
News

Biochemists and molecular biologists sweep major 2025 honors

Oct. 20, 2025

Recent Nobel, MacArthur and Kimberly Prize honorees highlight the power of biochemistry and molecular biology to drive discovery, including immune tolerance, vaccine design and metabolic disease, and to advance medicine and improve human health.

Subramanian receives electron microscopy honor
Member News

Subramanian receives electron microscopy honor

Oct. 13, 2025

He delivered remarks at the International Conference on Electron Microscopy in Bangalore, India.

Bioart for fall: From order to disorder
Art

Bioart for fall: From order to disorder

Oct. 7, 2025

The cover of the fall issue of ASBMB Today was created by ASBMB member, Soutick Saha, a bioinformatics developer at Wolfram Alpha LLC.

Doudna wins Priestley Medal
Member News

Doudna wins Priestley Medal

Oct. 6, 2025

She will receive a $20,000 research grant and will formally accept the honor at the ACS Spring 2026 conference.