MRC National Institute for Medical Research, London
Science for Health
Prize in honour of NIMR immunologist Ita Askonas
07 October 2009
To increase the role of women investigators in immunology, the European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS), in association with the European Journal of Immunology (EJI), has created a new prize. The EFIS-EJI Ita Askonas Prize is named after Ita Askonas, the outstanding immunologist who worked at NIMR from 1952 to 1988, including 12 years as Head of the Division of Immunology. Her work on cytotoxic T-cells, which kill virus-infected cells and tumour cells, was crucial in furthering our understanding of the immune response to viruses. She was also renowned as a scientific mentor and many of today's high-profile immunologists learned their craft in her lab.
The prize was awarded to Dr Fiona Powrie during the opening ceremnoy of the 2nd European Congress of Immunology, which took place in Berlin from 13-16 September 2009.
Ita Askonas
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