Meet the 2023 Award Recipient!

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Suzan Dijkstra, MD is a research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA, studying T-cell responses to viral infections.


Suzan studied medicine at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and worked as a postgraduate intern in Internal Medicine. During her studies and clinical work, she developed a special interest in the interplay between viral infections and immunology, conducting several research projects in this field under the guidance of the Infectious Diseases departments at the University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands, and Massachusetts General Hospital, USA (resp. supervision B.J. van Welzen and G.M. Lauer). 

 

Since 2021, she works as a research fellow in the Lauer-Kim Laboratory of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where she focuses on HCV- and HBV-specific CD4+ T cells after natural infection or (trial) vaccination, as well as the impact of immune checkpoint inhibition on virus-specific T cells. Suzan studies human T cells in different viral infections and outcomes using high-dimensional flow cytometry, single-cell RNA-seq, and TCR-seq to better define the characteristics of protective T-cell immunity against viruses in general and against specific viral epitopes that could be targeted with (therapeutic) vaccines. Her projects are aimed at contributing to the development of new prophylactic vaccines and immunotherapies providing (at least functional) cure to chronic viral infections. She is concurrently pursuing her PhD on this topic at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands (supervision D. van Baarle). 


Suzan Dijkstra, MD




About the Award 






Previous Award Recipients  


2022 | Bonolo Bonita Phinius, MSc


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Early-career researchers were invited to submit their application for either:


Mentored Presentation Opportunity

The award recipient will be offered the opportunity to give an overview lecture on the topic of their research at a conference of their choosing from VE/AME’s portfolio. (Regular abstract submissions are not accepted)

An experienced member of the conference organizing committee will be assigned to provide mentorship, support, and guidance in preparation for the presentation.

The award will include funding to visit the conference (travel, accommodation, and registration will be arranged by VE/AME).
 

Support for Skill Building Activity

The award recipient will receive funding to attend an educational course/ training activity/ skill-building activity to further their education, research, or scientific career development related to the field of Virology.


Criteria


To be eligible for this award, applicants must be:

  • Hold a Master's or Bachelor’s degree in Science (MSc, BSc or equivalent)
  • Be currently active in the field of (clinical) virology research (preferably HIV, hepatitis, or COVID-19), as evidenced by a publication, meeting attendance, and/or abstracts. 


Submission Now Closed



Submission Portal   |  Closed 
Application Submission Deadline  |  Closed
Announcement Award Winner  |  Announced 


To apply, each applicant was asked to submit a detailed description outlining their eligibility and indicating their award preference. A clear, concise description of how the applicant wishes to use the award should be included. Applicants submitted the following items:

  • A completed online Entry Form.
  • For the Mentored Presentation Opportunity: A concise overview that describes their research and places it in perspective with the selected conference and presentation. The overview must not exceed 250 words in length.
  • For the Support for Skill Building Activity: A clear description of the skill-building activity supported by a motivation letter on how this activity will benefit their research and/or development. (max. 250 Words)
  • A one-page letter of recommendation from their supervisor, or another senior colleague familiar with the applicant's work. 
  • A Curriculum Vitae that includes the following:

    • Full citations of papers that the applicant has published on the research described in the overview
    • Academic and professional awards and honors that the applicant has received; and
    • Relevant professional experience
    • Current appointment 

2022 Award Recipient Report

Written By: Bonolo Bonita Phinius, MSc


Virus Evolution and Molecular Epidemiology (VEME) was the perfect workshop for me to gain the knowledge and technical skills to analyze genomic data and interpret the results.

This is crucial for my PhD project. My research aims to generate whole genome sequences for HBV and evaluate the role of candidate deleterious mutations through in silico analyses. The workshop was informative and gave detailed applications of NGS sequencing from the wet lab all the way to bioinformatics analyses.

I am currently using the Oxford Nanopore technology to optimize a protocol to generate complete HBV genomes. We had lectures on Nanopore-based sequencing, and the question-and-answer sessions and other discussions helped to further enhance and amend my protocol. 

Another aspect of the workshop was outlining various tools to use in Bioinformatics - including the Bacterial and Viral Bioinformatics Resource Center, and other pipelines that perform pre-and post-trimming QC, multiple sequence alignments, phylogenetic analyses, and 3D protein imaging.

While I will be using some for my own analyses, I have also educated my colleagues at my institute on these various tools that they can use for their projects as well.

The expertise and the experience are enlightening.

I hope to attend VEME once again to further my knowledge with other modules that will sharpen my skills.



About Dr. Charles Boucher,
A Thought Leader in HIV Science





Prof. Boucher (1958 – 2021) was the co-founder and scientific director of Virology Education since its formation in 1998. His passion and enthusiasm for science and learning were unparalleled. He was a driving force in identifying knowledge gaps and providing medical education for HIV professionals throughout his career. 

His devotion to innovative research and his love for teaching, particularly regarding educating early career researchers, were well known. He was an outstanding mentor, always prepared to give advice, encouragement, and guidance.

This award, established in his honor, contributes to the phenomenal legacy of our friend and colleague.