National Academy honors microbiologist Falkow

Stanley Falkow, PhD, is one of 18 recipients of national awards for outstanding scientific achievement presented by the National Academy of Sciences.

Falkow, professor of microbiology and immunology and of medicine at the School of Medicine, received the Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology, which is offered every other year in recognition of achievement in microbiology. Falkow was singled out by the academy for "his many contributions to understanding the mechanisms by which bacteria cause infection and disease."

The award is supported by the Foundation for Microbiology and has been presented since 1968.

Falkow’s lab focuses on understanding why certain bacteria are pathogenic, how they become pathogenic and how they interact with their animal hosts. Among the infections he and his colleagues have studied are

Helicobacter pylori, which occurs in half the world’s population and is responsible for a wide range of stomach diseases including ulcers and gastric cancer, and salmonella.

The academy will present its national awards in April at a ceremony during its annual meeting in Washington, D.C.