J. Victor Garcia-Martinez, Ph.D., professor and chair of the UAB Department of Microbiology, recently attended the International Society for Antiviral Research (ISAR) annual conference in Gold Coast, Australia, where he presented the Diversity in Science and Excellence Award.

Each year, the ISAR conference draws an international and interdisciplinary roster of chemists, biologists, virologists, epidemiologists, and clinicians involved in basic, applied, and clinical aspects of antiviral research.

“The conference offers a unique opportunity to learn about the state of the art of antiviral research in a multidisciplinary environment that is quite unique since it is not devoted to a single pathogen or disease,” Garcia-Martinez added.

At this 37th installment of the conference, Garcia-Martinez presented the Diversity in Science and Excellence Award to Nancie Archin, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Infectious Diseases Division of the Department of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Garcia-Martinez, who has known Archin since she was training as a postdoctoral fellow, is a previous winner of the Diversity in Science and Excellence Award.

Garcia-Martinez expressed being honored to present the award to Archin, whose research is titled “Chasing an HIV Cure: The Intersection of Biological Sex and Latency Reversal.”

“It has been a unique opportunity to see someone blossom into an internationally recognized authority in the field of HIV,” Garcia-Martinez said. “It has also been humbling to see how the next generation of scientists is so well prepared to carry the torch and contribute to the well-being of everyone in society.”