Congratulations, Michelle Cilia!

Michelle Cilia of the Boyce Thompson Institute and a Research Molecular Biologist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Ithaca, New York

From Professor Greg Martin, acting president of BTI, “Michelle Cilia is the 2014 recipient of the Herbert L. Rothbart ARS Early Career Scientist of the Year Award.”

Michelle, who is a BTI Assistant Professor and Research Molecular Biologist at  the Biological Integrated Pest Management Research Unit at the USDA-ARS, has been recognized for her “outstanding research efforts in vector biology by combining protein trafficking, protein structure and topology, protein-protein interactions, and protein biomarkers to transform our understanding and monitoring of insect – pathogen interactions”.

Michelle will be formally recognized at the ARS Annual Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, September 9, 2014, in Beltsville, Maryland.

Please join me in congratulating Michelle on receipt of this award.  It is a well deserved recognition of her excellent start in her career and it reflects favorably on the mission of our Institute.”

Michelle Cilia is also one of the three recipients of the 2014 Schroth Faces of the Future Award, which recognizes progressive scientists, early in their career, for their forward thinking and potential as future leaders in virology. She will present her research at the annual meeting of the American Phytopathological Society in Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 9-13. Professor Stewart M. Gray, a Research Plant Pathologist at the USDA/ARS, described Dr. Cilia as ‘a very enthusiastic, energetic, smart, capable, highly productive and collaborative scientist whose success will continue to propel her to the top of her many fields of interest and expertise … she is one of a few who have dared to move into the insect side of insect-virus interactions and this is where the exciting new discoveries are happening.’