Will Rogers Institute Awards Top Doctor $50,000 for Outstanding Contributions to Lung Research

BURBANK, Calif., Feb. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Will Rogers Institute's annual prize for outstanding contributions to lung research has been awarded to Dr. Anthony Fauci. The $50,000 award was created to honor individuals for extraordinary work leading to advancements in treatment for lung diseases. He is the fourth recipient of the prestigious prize from the Will Rogers Institute.

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Dr. Fauci has made many contributions to basic and clinical research on the pathogenesis and treatment of immune-mediated diseases. He has developed effective therapies for formerly fatal inflammatory and immune-mediated diseases such as polyarteritis nodosa, Wegener's granulomatosis, and lymphomatoid granulomatosis. Dr. Fauci has made influential contributions to the understanding of how HIV destroys the body's defenses leading to the progression of AIDS, and he has played an important role in developing strategies for the therapy and immune reconstitution of patients with this disease, as well as for a vaccine to prevent HIV infection.

In 1984, Dr. Fauci became Director of NIAID (National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases), where he oversees an extensive research portfolio of basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious and immune-mediated illnesses, including HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, illness from potential agents of bioterrorism, tuberculosis, malaria, autoimmune disorders, asthma, and allergies.

Ted Cooper, president of the Will Rogers Institute, stated "Dr. Fauci was honored by the Institute because his work has consistently produced outstanding and influential research and he has been on the front lines of the HIV epidemic since day one."

The Will Rogers Institute is a program of the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation, a charity named after one of the greatest humanitarians, philanthropists, and entertainers, Will Rogers. Will Rogers Institute is a national charitable health program focused on research of debilitating lung disorders, medical school training fellowships and distribution of free health education materials to the general public. The Institute recently became a national leader in providing life saving neonatal ventilator equipment to hospitals across the country.  For more information, visit www.wrinstitute.org.

SOURCE Will Rogers Institute