Beatriz Leon, Ph.D., is one of the five Pittman Scholars for 2015. As a Pittman Scholar, Leon is appointed as an endowed scholar for five years. She will receive additional funding to support her research-related activities or scholarly enrichment.

The Pittman Scholars Program was created to “support the recruitment and retention of up to five highly competitive junior faculty members each year either to basic science or clinical departments,” explains Selwyn Vickers, M.D., Senior VP & Dean in the School of Medicine. “The purpose of the Pittman Scholars program is to identify and nurture tomorrow’s best physicians and scientists, and to reward their efforts with additional resources that support their goals.”

Eligibility for this highly competitive award is restricted to NIH-funded early career scientists who are within five years of their initial appointment to assistant professor position (tenure or non-tenure earning).  

The other 2015 Pittman Scholars are:
     Andre Ballesteros-Tato, Ph.D., Division Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Medicine
     Lizhong Wang, Ph.D., Department of Genetics
     Michael Wells, M.D., Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Clinical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine
     Adam Wende, Ph.D., Department of Pathology

“I'm glad to see the microbiology department represented in this group and hope that we will be in the running every year,” says Frances Lund, Ph.D., Chair, UAB Microbiology Department.

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