Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare, aggressive form of skin cancer usually caused by Merkel cell polyomavirus. The virus, which most people carry, is typically harmless. In 2,500 Americans each year, the viral genome becomes incorporated into skin cells, leading … Read More
CIC Resident Member and Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology Kristin Anderson, PhD, received a $50,000 award from the Michael Pascucci Cancer Association. MPCA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating cancer by funding research grant programs. … Read More
Megan Mazzei, a 2nd-year graduate student mentored by Coleen McNamara, MD, won a Poster Award at the 2025 Atherosclerosis Gordon Research Conference in Barcelona, Spain on June 27, 2025. Her presentation, “Humanized Mice with G6PD Deficiency Have Decreased Atheroprotective IgMOSE … Read More
Coleen McNamara, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Beirne B. Carter Center for Immunology Research (CIC), has been awarded the prestigious Thomas Jefferson Award for Scholarship by the University of Virginia. The award recognizes faculty who exemplify excellence … Read More
On Friday, June 6, and Saturday, June 7, 349 immunologists from 19 institutions met at UVA’s Newcomb Hall for the 2025 Southeastern Immunology Symposium. Across 26 talks and 172 posters, participants shared cutting-edge research on the role of the immune … Read More
Resident Member Melanie Rutkowski, PhD, has received an Exceptional Project research grant from the Breast Cancer Alliance. The award, issued to researchers “pursuing innovative, high-impact research in breast cancer,” will fund Rutkowski’s project “Defining How the Gut Microbiome Promotes Lung-associated … Read More
Kelsey Voss, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, was recently voted to join the CIC membership. Voss, who came to UVA from a postdoctoral position at Vanderbilt, is an expert in the immune system’s interactions with physiological iron. All cells need … Read More
Rossymar “Ross” Rivera Colón, a PhD student mentored by Kristin Anderson, PhD, won the third place and audience choice prizes at this year’s UVA Grad Thesis Slam. The event, put on by the university’s PhD+ program, challenges graduate students to … Read More
Daniel Zegarra-Ruiz, PhD, Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, & Cancer Biology and Resident Member of the Carter Immunology Center, received a $600,000 Empowering Lupus Research Program grant award from the Lupus Research Alliance. Autoimmune diseases like lupus affect over 200 … Read More
Two undergraduate students mentored by Daniel Zegarra-Ruiz, PhD, Iana Niknezhad and Aditi Shanbhag, received funding for summer research this week. Zegarra-Ruiz is an Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology and Resident Member of the CIC. His team studies … Read More
