The Escolano Lab has received a number of prestigious recognitions and awards during 2025. Congrats to the team for being recognized for their hard work and commitment!
Dr. Ignacio Rodriguez Relano was the recipient of the Ching Jer Chern Postdoctoral Fellowship. The Ching Jer Chern Postdoctoral Fellowship is named in memory of Dr. Ching Jer Chern, a member of Wistar’s scientific staff from 1974 to 1987. The fellowship recognizes early-stage researchers and help them further their scientific careers.
Predoctoral Trainee Austin Kriews was awarded a Predoctoral Individual National Research Award, also known as an F31 Award, by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It supports three years of funding toward his Ph.D. degree. Austin’s project is titled “Tracking B Cell Antigen Interactions for HIV-1 Vaccine Development” and the goal of the project is to understand the cellular mechanisms that lead to durable and high magnitude antibody responses after immunization to improve HIV-1 vaccine design.
Dr. Amelia Escolano was selected a 2025 RealLIST Innovator by science & tech publication Technical.ly Philly for her innovative immune therapy research against HIV. She wants to create a sequential immunization protocol that can be applied to HIV and other viruses.
Dr. Escolano was also appointed a co-director of the Penn Center for AIDS Research Developmental Core that supports short term projects in HIV research between The Wistar Institute, University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Finally, Dr. Escolano was elected as a member of the prestigious Henry Kunkel Society. The appointment celebrates Dr. Escolano’s significant contributions to the field of immunology. Founded in 1990, the Henry Kunkel Society was formed to honor the life of The Rockefeller Institute’s Dr. Henry Kunkel, and to further his patient-centered research approach.
