Jo Rae Wright Award Winner Chosen

    Julie G. Ledford, PhD

Julie G. Ledford, PhD, who joined the lab of the late Dr. Jo Rae Wright at Duke University as a postdoctoral fellow, will be the first recipient of the newly established Jo Rae Wright Award for Outstanding Science. The award, which is based on demonstrated potential for significant scientific achievement and contributions, will be presented during the ATS 2012 Awards Session from 4:45 to 6:30 p.m. Sunday, May 20, in Rooms 102-103-104 (South Building, Lower Level), in the Moscone Center.

Dr. Ledford’s studies, which were supported by a Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award, examined the role of Surfactant Protein-A in Mycoplasma infection. She was promoted to assistant professor of medicine at Duke University in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine. She received her undergraduate degree in genetics from the University of Georgia in 2000 and her doctorate in genetics and molecular biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2006.

Dr. Ledford has been an ATS member and served on the Research Advocacy Committee for the past four years. Dr. Wright, a former ATS president who died of breast cancer early this year, dedicated her life’s work to assisting promising young scientists in a variety of disciplines, which is why the award is recognizes a rising generation of individuals with the promise of becoming tomorrow’s leaders in science.