Global Virus Network launches Rising Star Mentorship Program

The Baltimore-based Global Virus Network (GVN), a coalition of human and animal virologists from 63 Centers of Excellence and 11 affiliates in 35 countries, on Wednesday announced the five inaugural members of the GVN Rising Star Mentorship Program.

This new initiative was created to identify and support promising, early career investigators to help them become leaders in the field of infectious diseases, as well as support the development of innovative diagnostic and interventional approaches to fight human pathogens.

As the only coalition of its kind, the GVN Rising Star Mentorship Program offers a rare opportunity for future virology leaders to collaborate with key researchers, medical practitioners and decision makers driving scientific, evidence-based solutions for some of today’s largest challenges in public health. The five awardees for the inaugural cohort of the program include:

• Jana Broadhurst, MD, Ph.D., DTM&H, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA
• Kizzmekia S. Corbet, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, USA
• Adeola Fowotade, Ph.D., Instructor of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
• Vineet Menachery, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Immunology and Infectious diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, USA
• Piya Paul Mudgal, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Virology, Institute of Virology, Manipal Institute of Virology, India

Earlier this year, GVN received a donation of $1 million to support the GVN Academy, an initiative that fosters global collaboration by providing training and mentoring programs for rising junior virologists. With these funds, the organization launched the GVN Rising Star Mentorship Program, which plans to mentor 15 scientists over the course of two years as well as connect each mentee with a GVN senior virologist who can help provide one-on-one research and career guidance.

Participants of the program will also be invited to participate in exclusive GVN meetings and other professional development opportunities in virology.