Summary: Microbial geneticist Dr. Gyanu Lamichhane of the Johns Hopkins Center for Tuberculosis Research is one of 49 recipients of the New Innovator Award, which is given to promising scientists in the early stages of their careers and is supported directly with $1.5 million in research funding over five years.

Dr. Lamichhane has discovered the key role of enzyme L,D-transpeptidase in forming chemical linkages inside the protective cell wall in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for TB diseases. The same enzyme and chemical linkages help hold together the cell walls of other disease-causing bacteria, including salmonella, Enterococcus and Escherichia coli. In this interview, we discuss the award and the related research that lead to the award, as well as, Dr. Lamichhane’s motivation to work with TB.

Additional Coverage:

NIH Director’s Awards Go to Three Johns Hopkins Scientists for Work That Challenges the Status Quo and Speeds Translation of Research

NIH Director’s Awards go to three JHU scientists for work that challenges status quo, speeds translation of research

WGND Interview with Gyanu Lamicchane (May 13, 2010)

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