Janelle Ayres, an associate professor and holder of the Helen McLoraine Development Chair at the Nomis Center for Immunobiology and Microbial Pathogenesis at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, is the only women among three winners of the 2018 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists.
The award, which comes with a $250,000 prize, is given out by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Scientists. It recognizes the most promising faculty under 42 years of age in the life sciences, physical sciences and engineering, and chemistry. The foundation is chaired by Len Blavatnik, the founder and chair of Access Industries. The awards have been given out since 2007.
Dr. Ayres received the life sciences award for her pioneering research in physiology and the study of how bacteria interact with humans and how humans fight off infections.
Dr. Ayers is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. She earned a Ph.D. at the Stanford University School of Medicine.