The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) hosted the 2018 SAMRC Scientific Merit Awards gala dinner on 30 August 2018. We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Professor Penny Moore (Acting Head of Virology (Centre for HIV and STI) ) for being awarded a Silver Medal. Silver medals are awarded to up-an-coming scientists for important scientific contributions made within 10 years of having been awarded their PhD or MMed or FCP.
Professor Penny Moore received a Silver medal for the research that she has conducted over the past decade, which has provided a roadmap for the development of broadly neutralizing antibodies required for an HIV vaccine. She is internationally recognised for her research defining the immunological “arms race” that leads to such antibodies. Her research team showed, for the first time, how the evolving HIV swarm in infected donors plays a major role in the evolution of these broadly neutralizing antibodies. Professor Moore’s research, focused in areas most impacted by the HIV epidemic, has thus significantly contributed to HIV in the vaccine field. She is a founding member of the South African Young Academy of Science; an NRF B3 rated scientist; a full Member of the American Society for Virology and a Member of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa.
