How NASA Is Readying the Successor to the Hubble Telescope

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NASA is getting ready to put part of the James Webb Space Telescope through a litany of cryogenic challenges that will simulate space.

The goal is to make sure the space telescope, which is set to launch in 2018 and be the eventual successor to the immensely successful Hubble Space Telescope, will be fully operational when it reaches its freezing destination 1 million miles from Earth.

NASA researchers will be watching especially close to see how the telescope performs in the newly renovated space simulating Chamber A at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The vacuum chamber is the same place where the Apollo spacecraft were tested.

Moving even a test part of what NASA said is the largest and most powerful space telescope ever built is no small feat. With the 3,000-pound Pathfinder Backplane in a clean room at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, the team glided in a shipping container on air pads, a move NASA likened to a puck on an air hockey table.

Using a crane, engineers were then able to lift the part and safely lower it into the Space Telescope Transporter for Air Road and Sea (STTARS), which was then hooked up to a semi truck that plodded along at a gentle 5 mph to the nearby Joint Base Andrews.

The largest cargo plane in the United States fleet, a C-5 military plane, then had the honor of flying to the engineers in Texas what will surely be a vital piece of space history.

We've got to test the test, Andrew Booth, a NASA engineer, said in a statement. "That's why this Pathfinder is so valuable because it will ensure the testing on the actual telescope is accurate."

The telescope is named for James Webb, a former NASA administrator, and is a collaboration with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

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NASA's Call for IAC Abstracts deadline extended to March 1, 2015

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The 66thInternational Astronautical Congress in Jerusalem, Israel

NASA announced its intent to participate in the 66th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) and requests that full-time U.S. graduate students attending U.S. universities respond to this extension for the Call for Abstracts. NASA looks forward to receiving your abstract before the final deadline.

The IAC which is organized by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), and the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) is the largest space-related conference world-wide and selects an average of 1000 scientific papers every year. The upcoming IAC will be held October 12 - 16, 2015 in Jerusalem, Israel. NASAs participation in this event is an on-going effort to continue to bridge NASA with the astronautical and space international community.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

This Call for Abstracts is a precursor to a subsequent submission of a final paper, which may be presented at the 66th IAC. Student authors are invited to submit an abstract regarding an original, unpublished paper that has not been submitted in any other forum. A NASA technical review panel will select abstracts from those that have been accepted by the IAF. This opportunity is for graduate students majoring in fields related to the IAF research topics. Students may submit technical (oral) presentations and/or posters. Students may submit abstracts that are co-authored with their Principal Investigators. However, the student must be the lead author, and only the student will present at the IAC. Students must be available to travel to the conference to represent NASA and their universities. Students must be U.S. citizens, attending a U.S. university, who plan to enter a career in space science or aeronautics. Pending the availability of funding, graduate students selected by NASA to participate in the IAC will be considered for subsidy funding from NASA.

Many students and professors are currently involved in NASA related research that could be considered for this submission. Students submitting abstracts are strongly encouraged to seek advice from professors, who are conducting NASA research and/or from NASA scientists and engineers. Abstracts must be related to NASAs ongoing vision for space exploration and fit into one of the following IAC categories:

Science and Exploration Systems sustaining missions, including life, microgravity, space exploration, space debris andSearch for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI)

Applications and Operations On-going and future operational applications, including earth observation, communication, navigation, human space endeavors and small satellites

Technology Common technologies to space systems including astrodynamics, structures, power and propulsion

Infrastructure Systems sustaining space missions including space system transportation, future systems and safety

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NASA's Call for IAC Abstracts deadline extended to March 1, 2015

NASA Reschedules MMS Briefing to 3 p.m. EST Feb. 25

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NASA has rescheduled to 3 p.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 25, a briefing on an upcoming mission to study magnetic reconnection around the Earth, a fundamental process that occurs throughout the universe where magnetic fields connect and disconnect explosively releasing energy.

The briefing will take place at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St. SW in Washington, and will air live on NASA Television and streamed on the agency's website.

Called the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, the project will help scientists understand the process of magnetic reconnection, which can accelerate particles up to nearly the speed of light. By studying reconnection near Earth, MMS will help scientists understand reconnection in the atmosphere of the sun and other stars, in the vicinity of black holes and neutron stars, and at the boundary between our solar systems heliosphere and interstellar space.

The mission consists of four identical spacecraft that will provide the first three-dimensional view of magnetic reconnection. Launch is scheduled for 10:44 p.m. March 12, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The briefing participants are:

Jeff Newmark, interim director, Heliophysics Division, NASA Headquarters in Washington

Jim Burch, principal investigator, MMS Instrument Suite, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio

Craig Tooley, MMS Project Manager, NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland

Paul Cassak,associate professor, West Virginia University, Morgantown

Media who want to participate by phone must send an email providing their name, affiliation and telephone number todwayne.c.brown@nasa.govby noon Wednesday.

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NASA Reschedules MMS Briefing to 3 p.m. EST Feb. 25

NASA Request for Information Ground Systems and Mission Operations 2

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Synopsis - Feb 24, 2015 Draft Document - Posted on Feb 24, 2015 General Information Solicitation Number: RFI-GSMO2-2015 Posted Date: Feb 24, 2015 FedBizOpps Posted Date: Feb 24, 2015 Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No Original Response Date: Mar 15, 2015 Current Response Date: Mar 15, 2015 Classification Code: R -- Professional, administrative, and mgmt support services NAICS Code: 541330 Contracting Office Address NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 210.Y, Greenbelt, MD 20771 Description This notice is issued by NASA/GSFC to post a draft Statement of Work via the internet, and solicit responses from interested parties for engineering support services for GSFC ground systems and mission operations support in all phases of mission life cycle. Potential support includes the Earth Observing System (EOS), the Data and Operations System (EDOS), the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), the Polar Operational Environmental Satellite (POES), the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE), the Magnetospheric Multi-Scale (MMS) mission, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN), the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR), the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) amongst others. This document is for information and planning purposes and to allow industry the opportunity to verify reasonableness and feasibility of the requirement, as well as promote competition. Prospective offerors are invited to submit written comments or questions to: Jason D. Lou via email Jason.D.Lou@nasa.gov , no later than 4:00pm, March 15, 2015. When responding reference RFI-GSMO2-2015. NASA/GSFC is seeking capability statements from all interested parties, including Large, Small, Small Disadvantaged (SDB), 8(a), Woman-owned (WOSB), Veteran Owned (VOSB), Service Disabled Veteran Owned (SD-VOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) businesses, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Institutions (MI) for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition and/or small business subcontracting goals for Ground Systems and Mission Operations-2. The Government reserves the right to consider a Small, 8(a), Woman-owned (WOSB), Service Disabled Veteran (SD-VOSB), or HUBZone business set-aside based on responses hereto. This request for information (RFI) is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for the information submitted in response. Respondents will not be notified of the results. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized in FedBizOpps and on the NASA Acquisition Internet Service. It is the potential offerors responsibility to monitor these sites for the release of any solicitation or synopsis. NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/pub/pub_library/Omb.html . Any documents related to this RFI will be available over the Internet. These documents will reside on a World Wide Web (WWW) server, which may be accessed using a WWW browser application. The Internet site, or URL, for the NASA/GSFC Business Opportunities home page is http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eps/bizops.cgi?gr=D&pin=51 It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor the Internet cite for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments, if any. Point of Contact Name:Jason Daniel Lou Title:Contracting Officer Phone:301-286-2533 Fax:301-286-0383 Email:Jason.D.Lou@nasa.gov

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NASA scientist promotes study of science

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Published: Tuesday, February 24, 2015 at 8:32 p.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, February 24, 2015 at 8:33 p.m.

DAYTONA BEACH A NASA scientists talk Tuesday night at Mainland High School about the search for other planets like Earth left 12-year-old Aaliyah Battle with one question.

Is the Earth dying? the Campbell Middle School 7th-grader asked Firouz Naderi.

No, it is not, but if we dont take care of it, then it can die, Naderi said.

Naderi, director of Solar System Exploration at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, was the guest of Food Brings Hope, a Daytona Beach nonprofit organization that helps homeless children attending public schools in Volusia. There are more than 2,000 homeless students in Volusia schools and the program helps more than 600 children at 14 schools, said Forough Hosseini, founder of the nonprofit.

Besides providing meals to the children, the nonprofit also helps nourish them academically.

Naderi was in Daytona Beach for a presentation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, so Hosseini took the opportunity to have him speak to elementary, middle, and high school children so they get interested in different fields of study, she said.

Speaking of billions of stars and suns and galaxies, Naderi grabbed students interest at the Performing Arts Auditorium at Mainland with videos, including one about the landing of the rover Curiosity on Mars, a project he worked on.

About 200 students from different schools attended, Hosseini said.

Basically I tried to give them a sense of what the universe is made of and why it is important that they study science, Naderi said.

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Together, nanotechnology, genetic interference may tackle 'untreatable/ brain tumors

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There are no effective available treatments for sufferers of Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive and devastating form of brain tumor. The disease, always fatal, has a survival rate of only 6-18 months.

Now a new Tel Aviv University study may offer hope to the tens of thousands diagnosed with gliomas every year. A pioneer of cancer-busting nanoscale therapeutics, Prof. Dan Peer of TAU's Department of Department of Cell Research and Immunology and Scientific Director of TAU's Center for NanoMedicine has adapted an earlier treatment modality -- one engineered to tackle ovarian cancer tumors -- to target gliomas, with promising results.

Published recently in ACS Nano, the research was initiated by Prof. Zvi R. Cohen, Director of the Neurosurgical Oncology Unit and Vice Chair at the Neurosurgical Department at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer. The Israeli Cancer Association provided support for this research.

Trying a new approach to gliomas

"I was approached by a neurosurgeon insistent on finding a solution, any solution, to a desperate situation," said Prof. Peer. "Their patients were dying on them, fast, and they had virtually no weapons in their arsenal. Prof. Zvi Cohen heard about my earlier nanoscale research and suggested using it as a basis for a novel mechanism with which to treat gliomas."

Dr. Cohen had acted as the primary investigator in several glioma clinical trials over the last decade, in which new treatments were delivered surgically into gliomas or into the surrounding tissues following tumor removal. "Unfortunately, gene therapy, bacterial toxin therapy, and high-intensity focused ultrasound therapy had all failed as approaches to treat malignant brain tumors," said Dr. Cohen. "I realized that we must think differently. When I heard about Dan's work in the field of nanomedicine and cancer, I knew I found an innovative approach combining nanotechnology and molecular biology to tackle brain cancer."

Dr. Peer's new research is based on a nanoparticle platform, which transports drugs to target sites while minimizing adverse effects on the rest of the body. Prof. Peer devised a localized strategy to deliver RNA genetic interference (RNAi) directly to the tumor site using lipid-based nanoparticles coated with the polysugar hyaluronan (HA) that binds to a receptor expressed specifically on glioma cells. Prof. Peer and his team of researchers tested the therapy in mouse models affected with gliomas and control groups treated with standard forms of chemotherapy. The results were, according to the researchers, astonishing.

"We used a human glioma implanted in mice as our preclinical model," said Prof. Peer. "Then we injected our designed particle with fluorescent dye to monitor its success entering the tumor cells. We were pleased and astonished to find that, a mere three hours later, the particles were situated within the tumor cells."

A safer, more promising approach

Rather than chemotherapy, Prof. Peer's nanoparticles contain nucleic acid with small interference RNAs, which silence the functioning of a key protein involved in cell proliferation. "Cancer cells, always dividing, are regulated by a specific protein," said Prof. Peer. "We thought if we could silence this gene, they would die off. It is a basic, elegant mechanism and much less toxic than chemotherapy. This protein is not expressed in normal cells, so it only works where cells are highly proliferated."

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Samsung Wants Moores Law End, Analyst Says

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Rather than fearing the future, Samsung may be looking forward to inventing it.

Samsung Electronics, the worlds largest smartphone maker, may be looking forward to the end of Moores Law as a way to gain a new competitive edge, according to Mehdi Hosseini, an analyst with Susquehanna International Group.

Moores Law, the observation by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore in 1965 that the number of transistors per surface area on a semiconductor doubles every year may be on its last legs, according to a KPMG survey of industry executives.

The battleground will become very interesting next year, Hosseini said in an interview with EE Times. If Samsung is able to commercialize a flexible display, thats going to be a game changer.

Within the next two years, the competitive edge in the smartphone business will not be about the chips that go into handsets, he says. Instead, it will be about the display, user friendliness and form factor.

Samsung is preparing for that future through an agreement with Universal Display Corp. of the US that allows Samsung to use the US companys technology to manufacture organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays for a new generation of wearable devices that can be clipped on a wrist, according to Hosseini.

Apple Inc., which makes more than 90 percent of the profit in the smartphone business, would probably be the first company to feel the heat if Samsungs bet comes true, Hosseini says. Apple, unlike Samsung, outsources all of its manufacturing.

That explains why LG Display, which supplies more than half of Apples flat screens, just a month ago signed an agreement with Universal Display similar to the Samsung pact, according to Hosseini.

Apple is already thinking about next year, Hosseini says. Apple could be under pressure.

Longer term, the implications of an end to Moores Law are far reaching, potentially affecting the huge multibillion-dollar ecosystem of companies that have grown up to support the silicon chip industry. Indeed, Samsung Electronics, the worlds second-largest chipmaker, faces a large impact should Moores Law stop in its tracks.

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Samsung Wants Moores Law End, Analyst Says

Intel carves tiny SRAMs at 14nm

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February 24, 2015 // By Rick Merritt

Intel will describe what it claims are some of the world's smallest DRAM and I/O circuits here this week, a testament to its 14nm process technology.

Page 1 of 3

In a preview of at least five papers at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference, one Intel executive also continued to express optimism about the companys work on 10 and 7nm nodes.

Intel will describe a 0.0500um2 SRAM bitcell capable of storing 14.5 Mbits per mm 2. At 0.6V, the 14nm cell still runs at rates up to 1.5 GHz.

The cell is part of a memory array will be widely used in Intels future SoCs such as cellular modems that use hundreds of Mbits on a die, said Kevin Zhang, an Intel fellow.

In another paper, Intel will describe a 14nm serdes transmitter that can signal rates up to 40 Gbits/s using either NRZ or PAM-4 modulation. AT 0.03 mm2, Intel claims it is the worlds smallest transmitter delivering more than 25 Gbits/s.

Another paper will report on a 10 Gbit/s serial link for PCI Express made in the 14nm process. It consumes just 59 milliwatts and takes up 0.065mm2 of silicon area.

Wafers are more complex and expensive in the 14nm process which requires double patterning and thus more masks. However, greater gains in density means overall cost per transistor continued to decline at 14nm, something Intel expects to continue for the next two nodes, said Mark Bohr, an Intel senior fellow, echoing comments made in September.

Moores Law can continue beyond 10nm with new materials and device structures and by close collaboration of process and product designers, Bohr said. I still believe 7nm without extreme ultraviolet lithography can deliver improved cost per transistor, but exactly how Im not ready to disclose, he said.

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Education officials lobby for $27 million for UNLV medical school

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By Kyle Roerink (contact)

Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015 | 12:30 p.m.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval delivers the State of the State address at the Legislature in Carson City on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013.

The top brass of UNLV and the Nevada System of Higher Education lobbied lawmakers today for $27 million in upfront funding for a medical school in Las Vegas, instead of the $8.3 million proposed by Gov. Brian Sandoval.

The funding push highlights the paramount challenge UNLV must overcome if it wants to enroll an inaugural class by 2017: raising state and private funds to pay for the school.

The effort also showcases a budget battle pitting lawmakers to choose between funding a high-profile item all at once or incrementally.

NSHE requested $27 million for the medical school this year, calling the sum a small amount for a school that will have an estimated $350 million backing from philanthropists.

The governor has signaled he will support $27 million for the school, but he doesnt want to fund it all at once.

He wants $8.3 million to go to UNLV in the next two years and the remainder to follow in the next biennium.

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New Las Cruces medical school moving forward ahead of schedule

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LAS CRUCES Construction began earlier this month on the $105 million Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arrowhead Research Park on the campus of New Mexico State University.

The private medical school will be the first in Las Cruces and only the second medical school in the state. It will also be the states only school devoted to osteopathy. The school is organized as a for-profit business and funded by Santa Fe resident Daniel Burrell through his familys private equity firm.

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American Brain Tumor Association Recognizes Exceptional Medical Student Summer Fellow

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Chicago, IL (PRWEB) February 24, 2015

Today, the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) named Andrew Zureick, an ABTA Medical Student Summer Fellow and second- year medical student at the University of Michigan Medical School, the 2014 Lucien Rubinstein Award recipient.

Zureick, whose research and training experience was conducted under the mentorship of Torunn Yock, MD, MCH, associate professor at Harvard Medical School and director of Pediatric Radiation Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, focused his studies on identifying the levels of proton radiation exposure to different areas of the brain during proton beam therapy.

Andy Zureick is simply one of the smartest medical students I have had the pleasure of working with and his work ethic and grasp of complex concepts and relationships is unparalleled, said Dr. Yock. He has an early and very promising start in the field of neuro-oncology and the ABTAs support has helped capture this brilliant soon-to-be doctor who is now excited about the prospects of what we can do in radiation oncology to truly improve outcomes in our pediatric brain tumor survivors.

Approximately 70% of pediatric brain tumor patients are long-term survivors. While treatment has been very successful, the adverse side effects of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery can manifest themselves long-term, often impacting a patients cognitive abilities. Zureicks study helped determine which parts of the brain are the most crucial to spare when designing a proton beam treatment plan, in order to help preserve neurocognition.

Andrews research to improve the lives of those living with a brain tumor is truly the ABTAs mission in action, and it is with great pride that we honor him with the Lucien Rubinstein award, said Elizabeth M. Wilson, MNA, president and CEO, American Brain Tumor Association. He was among 10 medical students who received funding from the ABTA to spend time in the lab as an ABTA Medical Student Summer Fellow gaining valuable, hands-on experience with some of the countrys leading researchers serving as their mentors. He is well on his way to making significant contributions to the neuro-oncology field.

The ABTA Medical Student Summer Fellowship is a 10-to-12 week laboratory experience designed to attract and motivate young, talented medical students to pursue a career in brain tumor research. At the conclusion of their fellowship, each student is required to submit a report on their experience and research findings. A panel of ABTA Scientific Reviewers assesses the reports, and based on the highest review scores, an outstanding medical student is selected to receive the annual ABTA Lucien Rubenstein Award. The award is named in honor of Lucien J. Rubenstein, MD, a professor of neuropathology at the University of Virginia and a world-renowned brain tumor researcher.

Through the funding of early career scientists, the ABTA aims to seed the field with talented, bright young investigators who have the potential to change our understanding of the causes, effects, diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors.

I am extremely grateful that the ABTA believed in my potential to make a contribution to the medical community through my research, said Zureick. Being able to meet many of the pediatric patients either under treatment or visiting Boston for their long-term follow-up appointments helped me recognize that the diseases that afflict children are devastating, but we have the scientific capabilities to help many live long and full lives. I would be honored to dedicate my career to serving these patients.

About The American Brain Tumor Association Founded in 1973, the American Brain Tumor Association was first and is now the only national organization committed to funding brain tumor research and providing information and education on all tumor types for all ages. For more information, visit http://www.abta.org or call 800-886-ABTA (2282).

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Simulation Effective for Up to Half of Nurse Training: B-Line Medical Partners with University of Pennsylvania School …

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Newswise B-Line Medical announced today that it has partnered with the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing to provide nursing education and hospital simulation programs access to robust and proven healthcare curriculum. The recent NCSBN National Simulation Study, published by the Journal of Nursing Regulation, found substantial evidence that up to 50% simulation training can be effectively substituted for traditional clinical experience in all prelicensure core nursing courses. The partnership with The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, ranked as the #1 nursing school by U.S. News & World Report, was formed to advance the use of high-quality simulation curriculum into nursing programs.

The nursing curriculum offered contains twelve unique scenarios created by The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing that seamlessly integrate with B-Line Medicals SimCapture platform, the leading healthcare simulation management solution. The scenarios focus on a wide range of common and often complex healthcare issues that nurses face on a daily basis. Each scenario contains learning objectives, a pre-brief, inventory requirements, room setup instructions, initial simulator states and adjustments, scripting, annotations, evaluations and reports, as well as a debriefing guide. In addition, sample healthcare simulation recording and debriefing policies and forms are included.

"We are excited to be partnering with such an esteemed nursing program. The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing are experts in healthcare simulation and being able to deliver their proven curriculum to other SimCapture users is a real benefit to the simulation community," said President of B-Line Medical, Hartley Thompson. "Offering high quality, nursing curriculum on a turnkey basis provides new and existing programs a unique opportunity to quick start or enhance their program regardless of resource availability."

We are proud of the cutting edge curriculum we offer and even prouder that through this partnership with B-Line Medical, Penn Nursing can serve as a model for others, said Antonia M. Villarruel, Dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. The future of healthcare depends on nursing. Providing students the opportunity to learn through simulation programs greatly enhances their education and has a direct impact on their future clinical experiences.

For more information about SimCapture Nursing Curriculum, please contact the B-Line Medical Sales Team at info@blinemedical.com.

B Line Medical makes software that helps healthcare professionals and educators improve the delivery of healthcare. Focused on the capture, debriefing, and assessment of medical training and clinical events, B-Line Medical specializes in the delivery of robust, yet easy-to-use web-based solutions. Our software has helped over 350 top medical schools, nursing programs, and hospitals in 17 countries operate and manage their training and QI programs more effectively. To learn more, visit us on the web at http://www.blinemedical.com.

Contact: Jill Baranick 888.228.3838 jill.baranick@blinemedical.com

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UTHealth's Cesar A. Arias Elected to American Society for Clinical Investigation

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Newswise Cesar A. Arias, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, has been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI). It is an honor society comprised of more than 3,000 physician scientists.

Members are elected for their scholarly achievements in biomedical research. Arias research is focused on antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as superbugs, which claim the lives of approximately 23,000 Americans a year. He runs research laboratories in the United States and Colombia.

Cesar A. Arias is an internationally known physician-scientist, whose major contributions involve recognizing and characterizing novel aspects of antibiotic resistance in Gram-positive pathogens, particularly in the areas of molecular epidemiology and mechanisms of bacterial multidrug-resistance, said Barbara E. Murray, M.D., director of the Division of Infectious Diseases and holder of the J. Ralph Meadows Professorship in Internal Medicine at UTHealth Medical School.

Examples include his innovative work on resistance to daptomycin, the drug of last resort for enterococci, and on vancomycin resistance in a community clone of staphylococci. He has also been pivotal in promoting antimicrobial resistance research in developing countries, said Murray, who is the immediate past president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and who nominated Arias for membership into the society.

Arias leads the Laboratory for Antimicrobial Research at UTHealth Medical School. Receiving support from the National Institutes of Health (R01-AI093749), this laboratory studies the clinical and molecular aspects of antibiotic resistance in an effort to better understand the complex mechanisms by which superbugs become resistant to antibiotics. Researchers then design strategies to fight superbugs.

Arias is also founder and scientific director of the Molecular Genetics and Antimicrobial Resistance Unit at Universidad El Bosque in Bogota, Colombia. This research unit, created in 2000 with the support of the British Wellcome Trust, is a major surveillance center for resistant pathogens in South America.

Working together, researchers in these laboratories have identified novel mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance and unusual trends in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In addition, they have characterized the emergence of clinically important superbugs. For his innovative work, Arias has been a recipient of the Wellcome Trust International Fellowship, NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00), American Society for Microbiology ICAAC Young Investigator Award, the Isidro Zavala Trujillo Medal by the Pan-American Society of Infectious Diseases and the Oswald Avery Award for Early Achievement from the Infectious Diseases Society of America, among others.

Arias received his medical degree from Universidad El Bosque, Bogota, Colombia in 1992. He obtained his MSc in clinical microbiology from the University of London in 1996. In 2000, he received his Ph.D. in molecular biology and microbial biochemistry from The University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. Arias carried out his internal medicine residency/infectious disease fellowship at the UTHealth Medical School and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is on the medical staff of Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and Harris Health Systems Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital.

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