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Microbiology assistant professor Beatriz León-Ruiz, Ph.D., has been named the junior faculty winner of the 2015 Dean’s Excellence Award in Research. This honor recognizes exceptional contributions made by School of Medicine faculty in service, teaching, research, diversity enhancement and mentorship. 

Once a year, faculty members of the microbiology department join for a day-long retreat to discuss developments in their current research and plans for continued study. This year’s meeting included presentations from eight faculty members—Drs. Mengxi Jiang, Janusz Kabarowski, David Briles, Hui Hu, Scott Barnum, Allan Zajac, Amy Weinmann and Elliot Lefkowitz.

The retreat was held atop Birmingham’s Red Mountain at Vulcan Park & Museum, a premier venue for forging ideas. Named for the centerpiece of the park—the statue of the Roman god of fire and forge—Vulcan Park is by far the best place to view the city of Birmingham.

Microbiology professor David Briles says, “As with past faculty retreats, this retreat permitted the faculty to exchange information and help each other with scientific problems. This year’s talks were outstanding. The food was good, and the location was quiet, peaceful and had a beautiful view looking north over Birmingham.”

Congratulations to Tyler Stewart (Novak lab) who received a Hiramoto Travel Award to assist in his travel to the Society for Glycobiology Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

The Hiramoto Travel Award honors the memory of Ray Hiramoto, Ph.D., a noted immunologist and faculty member in the UAB Department of Microbiology until his death in 2002.

All Microbiology graduate students (defined as Ph.D. students with a primary Microbiology faculty member as a dissertation mentor) in good standing are eligible to apply for a Hiramoto Travel Award. These awards will enable recipients to attend upcoming scientific conferences.

Microbiology professor Jiri Mestecky, M.D., Ph.D., has completed the fourth edition of Mucosal Immunology, the only comprehensive reference covering the basic science and clinical manifestations of mucosal immunology.

First published in 1994 as Handbook of Mucosal Immunology, this book was the first to cover the entire spectrum of mucosal immunology in a single work. In its infancy, the book was predicted to become an invaluable stimulus to new lines of interdisciplinary research—and that it has. For more than 20 years, Mucosal Immunology has been a go-to for a diverse group of biologists, researchers, health care workers and students of medicine and pediatrics as they each apply basic biology to virtually all immunological or infection-mediated disease processes of external mucosal surfaces.

The recently released fourth edition consists of two volumes with 2,560 pages. Mestecky has included new research data, exceptional illustrations, original theory, a new perspective, and excellent organization. The book covers immune system topics, such as inductive and effector tissues and cells, and development and physiology of the mucosal barrier; diseases in the digestive system, respiratory tract, and genitourinary tract; and immunodeficiency.

Mucosal Immunology, Fourth Edition, published by Academic Press, is available in hardcover and eBook formats.

In 2013, Julie Decker walked through the doors of the Bevill Biomedical Research Building, not as a researcher but as a program manager. She spent more than 20 years honing her skills researching HIV before making a job change beyond her expectation.

After earning her undergraduate degree in molecular biology and mathematics at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, Decker moved to Alabama to do HIV research at Southern Research Institute. In 1993, she moved across the street to UAB and the labs of George Shaw, Ph.D., and Beatrice Hahn, Ph.D., both former professors of medicine.

When Shaw and Hahn moved to Pennsylvania, Decker remained in Alabama, swapping benchwork for deskwork. The microbiology department was searching for an employee who knew the needs of researchers and who could also coordinate the intricate details of building renovation. Decker had the qualifications for both. Not only does she have extensive research experience, she also has a master’s degree in Business Administration, which she received here at UAB.

Frances Lund, chair of the microbiology department, explains Decker’s job. “She coordinates every element of the building renovation, working closely with building employees, the dean’s office, the Animal Resource Program and the contractors who are carrying out the renovations. She set up temporary lab facilities so the faculty and staff can continue their work while their labs are being renovated or when various utilities are temporarily shut down in parts of the building.”

Decker’s colleagues appreciate her exceptional capabilities as program manager for the department. “What I value most is her willingness to take on difficult projects and see them to successful completion. I feel very fortunate to have her as a part of our team,” says Kristina Sinclair, administrator for the department.

Then, Decker has another trait that endears her to everyone she contacts. According to Dr. Michael Saag, Infectious Diseases, “She makes every visitor feel special and pays extraordinary attention to detail.” And microbiology professor Chuck Turnbough says, “She has been one of the most agreeable, pleasant, and cooperative colleagues I have ever worked with.”

Clearly, Decker enjoys her work, although it is different from what she had been doing for 20+ years. “I’m on the other side of the bench as a program manager, and I have a whole lot more appreciation for what goes on this side to make the research happen,” Decker said. “It was quite a switch at first, and I felt like a fish out of water, but everyone was really encouraging and helped show me the ropes. The best part of my job is getting to interact with a variety of people. The people distinguish the department and it is a real pleasure to be a part of the microbiology department.”

Away from UAB, Decker is a busy wife and mother of two teenagers, Trent—a freshman at Thompson High School, and Kristen—who will be attending UAB in the fall. Both children are avid musicians, active in the high school band.

What are postdoctoral fellows and graduate students to do when they see opportunities for academic research positions continue to shrink?

UAB has begun a series of networking events—New Careers for Today’s Scientists—to help UAB trainees and students explore career opportunities in areas other than academics.

Microbiology postdoc Theresa Ramos, Ph.D. was one of the panelists for the networking event in January 2015. As UAB’s first corporate postdoctoral fellow, she is uniquely qualified to speak on the event’s topic, the business of science. She advised event attendees ent to identify their passion and then ask how they can get there. Ramos credits this approach for her first corporate position of Postdoctoral Entrepreneur at the St. Louis-based startup company Kypha Inc. “I was able to write my own contract with Kypha because I knew what I wanted to do.”

Ramos and her mentor, Scott Barnum, Ph.D., has partnered with Kypha to develop a rapid diagnostic device for meningitis and other conditions.

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