The Department of Microbiology and Immunology is pleased to announce that Vivien Maltez is the 2017 recipient of the G. Philip Manire Graduate Student Excellence in Research Award. For her dissertation work in Ed Miao’s lab, Vivien has been exploring the role of inflammasomes in protection against pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria. By provoking the innate immune system with bacteria that have no mechanisms to avoid it, Vivien revealed the function of several poorly characterized aspects of innate immunity. Vivien’s approach also provided conditions under which she could test and refine potential therapeutic strategies. You can read more about this study in the Immunity article at the link below.