Dr. Carl Nathan, chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the R.A. Rees Pritchett Professor of Microbiology, has been named the 2009 recipient of the distinguished Robert Koch Award.
The prize, endowed with €100,000 by the Robert Koch Foundation in Germany, cites Dr. Nathan's groundbreaking research work into the mechanisms of antibacterial infection defense. His research has shown that defense cells in the immune system attack bacteria penetrating the body with various chemicals, including nitric oxide. He has also elucidated the mechanism with which tuberculosis bacteria escape this bombardment.
Dr. Nathan serves as professor of medicine and director of the Abby and Howard P. Milstein Program in Chemical Biology at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Nathan is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, most recently a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study the genetic mechanism by which tuberculosis emerges from its latent state into an infectious and symptomatic disease.
The annual Robert Koch Award is one of the most highly endowed scientific awards in Germany. The foundation, which stands under the patronage of German President Horst Köhler, is dedicated to promoting basic research into infectious diseases and other widespread diseases. The prize is named after the scientist who was one of the founders of modern bacteriology. Robert Koch (1843 to 1910) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1905 in recognition of his achievements.
The Award will be presented on Oct. 30, 2009, in Berlin.
Photography by Susan San Giovanni.