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June 8, 2009
Vaccine Center director elected to national academy

Immunologist Rafi Ahmed has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the premier recognitions in science.

Ahmed is director of the Emory Vaccine Center and associate director of vaccine science for the Emory Center for AIDS Research. He is also professor of microbiology and immunology and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar.

Ahmed’s groundbreaking discoveries on immune memory have laid the foundation for understanding vaccine-induced immune responses. His most recent work has focused on rejuvenating the immune response to chronic viral infections.

Ahmed, who joined Emory in 1995, has received numerous grants for his research, including a $13 million grant from the National Institutes of Health in 2008 for work on a molecular pathway known as programmed death 1.

The National Academy of Sciences elects members in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

— Staff Reports