American Committee on Arthropod-Borne Viruses and Zoonotic Viruses (ACAV)

Donate to ACAV and supports its efforts to promote the study of arthropod-borne viruses  (arboviruses) and zoonotic viruses through training and travel fellowships, advocacy, and advising the scientific and public health communities in the areas of virus classification, laboratory safety and biocontainment.
 

• ACAV Awards 
• ACAV Executive Council Members 
• ACAV Subcommittees
• ACAV Newsletter 

Spring 2015 Newsletter
Fall 2016 Newsletter
Fall 2017 Newsletter
Fall 2018 Newsletter

Learn how ACAV was formed, and get details on its governance structure.

ACAV Student/Trainee Leadership Group Scope of Work

ACAV Strategic Plan

Membership in ACAV is $25 for regular members. If you are from an LMIC, you can choose to have ACAV membership at no charge. If you are a student or trainee, membership to ACAV is free. To join ASTMH and ACAV, please click here.

Webinars

2021 SIRACA Meeting
ACAV Webinar: Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants

Highlights

Check out the work of several ACAV members in this piece produced by Nova by PBS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yFPgaFJtRM

A delegation of ACAV members participated in a historic NIH-sponsored meeting in Havana, Cuba on November 28-30, 2016. This scientific conference titled 'Exploring Opportunities for Arbovirus Research Collaboration' was convened to share information about current arbovirus research, recent findings and future research priorities. It responded to a call for such a meeting at Cuba-U.S. leadership meetings where collaboration on arbovirus research was identified as a priority for scientific interaction. As a result of this meeting, the expectation is that Cuban and U.S. Scientists will identify opportunities for the initiation or expansion of arbovirus research collaboration and cooperation. ACAV is always at the forefront of developments and welcomes this initiative.

Picture from Left to right: Nikos Vasilakis, Shannan Rossi, Gregory Ebel, Carol Blair, Laura Kramer and Ann Powers

In Memoriam

• Myron Gilbert Schultz (1935–2016)

ACAV Awards

The ACAV presents three awards. The chair of the executive council appoints a nominating committee for each award. Recipients of awards are selected by the executive council. This procedure provides the nominating committee with nominations and documentation from ACAV members.

Please note: To share equally among everyone in our tropmed community, only one ASTMH (including the Subgroups) award, travel award, fellowships and/or medal will be awarded to a single recipient in a given year.

Those who receive a Subgroup research/travel award are not eligible to receive an ASTMH-sponsored fellowship or ASTMH Travel Award.
 

1. The Dalrymple/Young Award is given every three years to a mid-career investigator who has made outstanding contributions to arbovirology. Those awarded the Dalrymple-Young Award for mid-career scientists in zoonotic virology truly follow two of the outstanding leaders in their field during the second half of the 20th century. Nominator and Nominee must be members of ASTMH and ACAV.
 

	Born in Salt Lake City, Utah and raised in Montpelier, Idaho, Joel Dalrymple received his PhD from the University of Utah and spent his career working on arboviruses and arbovirus diseases, first at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, DC, then at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases at Ft. Detrick, Frederick, Maryland. Joel's research resulted in more than 100 publications, and he was the recipient of more than 30 national and international honors. In 1983, Joel was the recipient of the Bailey K. Ashford Award of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene for outstanding contributions to tropical medicine. Read more...
1939-1992
	Born in Sheffield, England, Nat Young came to the U.S. at an early age, but retained a keen interest throughout his life in the land of his birth. Nat studied medicine at Yale where he received the Parker Prize, given to the student with the "best qualifications for the practice of medicine." he interned at New York Univesity, followed by a year in clinical pathology at Yale-New Haven Medical Center. He pursued both interests intensively throughout his tragically shortened life. Read more...
1938-1979

Dalrymple/Young Award Recipients
Nikos Vasilakis, 2023
Gregory Ebel, 2019
Kathryn Hanley, 2016
Hideki Ebihara , 2013 
Jonathan Towner, 2010
Heinrich Feldmann, 2005
Scott C. Weaver, 2002
Stuart T. Nichol, 1999
Connie Schmalijohn, 1996
Donald S. Burke and James W. LeDuc 1989
Barry J. Beaty, 1988
Thomas Monath, 1985
David H.L. Bishop, 1982

View recipient photos here.

2. The Richard M. Taylor Award is given every three years to a person who has made outstanding contributions to arbovirology throughout his or her career.

Born in Owensboro, Kentucky, Richard Moreland Taylor, MD, PhD, received a medical degree from the University of Michigan and a doctorate degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University. From 1923 to 1945, he served in Europe and South America for the International Health Division of the Rockefeller Foundation. His first assignment was Montpellier, France, where an epidemic of undulant fever (brucellosis) was creating havoc. In 1936 he was sent to Hungary to establish what would become, in his words, "the first influenza listening post". It triggered the groundwork for influenza virology in RF-initiated institutes of hygiene and epidemiology in Eastern Europe. Read more...

1887-1981

Richard M. Taylor Award Recipients
Duane Gubler, 2022
Laura Kramer, 2018
John (Jack) Woodall, 2016*
Carol Blair, 2015
Barry Beaty, 2012
CJ Peters, 2012
Thomas Yuill, 2009
Robert Tesh, 2009
Charles Calisher , 2006
Frederick A. Murphy, 2002
Philip K. Russell, 2000
Leon Rosen, 2000
Scott Halstead, 1999
Tom Monath, 1994
James Hardy, 1990
Robert E. Shope, 1987
Karl Johnson, 1987
Harry Hoogstral, 1984
Thomas H.G. Aitken, 1984
Telford Work, 1981
Ottis and Calisa Causey, 1980
Wilbur Downs, 1979
Pedro Galindo, 1977
Roy W. Chamberlain, 1975
William C. Reeves, 1973
W. McD. Hammon, 1970
Jordi Casals, 1968
Richard M. Taylor, 1966

*Given out of rotation

View recipient photos here.

3. The Scherer/Hardy Award is given to an outstanding doctoral graduate either before graduation or up to three years post-graduation.

	William F. Scherer, 1981 President of ASTMH, was known for his research productivity. He was a pioneer in the field of tissue culture and growth of polio and many other viruses in vitro. He made now classic studies of the epidemiology of Japanese encephalitis in Japan and was a leader in research on Venezuelan encephalitis virus. Dr. Scherer received his MD from the University of Rochester and had internships in Internal Medicine at Barnes Hospital, Washington University and in Pathology at the Strong Memorial Hospital, University of Rochester. Read more...
1925-1982
	James L. Hardy was a highly respected scientist and teacher at UC Berkeley for 35 years. He was a leader in research on vector-borne viral diseases (arbovirology) and a distinguished professor in the School of Public Health from 1966-1996. He was born on July 30, 1932 in Fort Benton, Montana. He graduated from the University of Montana in 1954 and stayed there to complete his MA degree in 1956. His thesis was done at the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Laboratory, National Institutes of Health in Hamilton, Montana, under the tutelage of Carl Eklund, an early pioneer in research on encephalitis viruses, poliomyelitis and prions. Read more...
1932-1997

Scherer/Hardy Award Recipients
Jean-Paul Carrera, 2024
Anna Fagre, 2021
Nathan Grubaugh, 2018
Farooq Nasar, 2015
Alex Ciota, 2013
Amy Schuh, 2013
Brian Bird, 2010
Patricia V. Aguilar, 2007
Gregory D. Ebel, 2004
Aaron Brault, 2001
Kurt Kamrud, Ann M. Powers, 1997
Scott C. Weaver, 1993
George Ludwig, 1989
Daniel Sundin, 1986
Rebeca Rico-Hesse, 1983

View recipient photos here.

Medals for the Dalrymple/Young and Taylor Awards are retained by the treasurer until they are requested by the chairperson for presentation at the annual committee meeting.

ACAV Travel Awards

Up to seven individuals are presented the ACAV student/post-doc travel awards by the ASTMH’s American Committee on Arthropod-Borne Viruses and Zoonotic Viruses (ACAV). Applicants must be either graduate students or post-doctoral fellows who are actively conducting arbovirus research. Recipients will be awarded up to $500 to defray costs associated with attending the meeting and complimentary registration. 

ACAV Student Travel Award Recipients
Reem Alatrash, 2024
Shelby Cagle, 2024
Felicity Coulter, 2024
Jeffrey Marano, 2024
Chasity Trammell, 2024
Whitney Weber, 2024
Emily Mantlo, 2024
Arturo Barbachano-Guerrero, 2023
Helene Cecilia, 2023
Paola Flores, 2023
Verity Hill, 2023
Parker Norman, 2023
Natalia Ingrid Oliveira Da Silva, 2023
Shiho Torii, 2023
Julian Bakker, 2022
Rachel Lange, 2022
Krisangel Lopez, 2022
Livia Sacchetto, 2022
Taylor Stone, 2022
Manette Tanelus, 2022
Olanrewaju Igah, 2022
Rachel Fay, 2021
Adam Hendy, 2021
Rachel Lange, 2021
Viridiana Laredo-Tiscareno, 2021
Izabela Rezende, 2021
Megan Vogt, 2021
Jasmine Ayers, 2020
Allen Esterly, 2020
Mariah Hassert, 2020
Cesar Lopez, 2020
Zoe Lyski, 2020
Taylor Stone, 2020
Chantal Vogels, 2020
Priscila Castanha, 2019
Marissa Childs, 2019
Francesca Falconi, 2019
Siew Wai Fong, 2019
Cat Lippi, 2019
Alice Michie, 2019
Blake Schouest, 2019
Juan Aguilar, 2018
Nikita Cudjoe, 2018
Laura Dickson, 2018
Danilo Lemos, 2018
Daniela Michlmayr, 2018
Ranya Mulchandani, 2018
Nivison Nery Jr, 2018
Maria Onyango, 2018
Nunya Chotiwan, 2017
Amy Krystosik, 2017
Carla Mavian, 2017
Erin McDonald, 2017
Wen Yang Tsai, 2017
Joseph Fauver, 2016
Claire Heath, 2016
Devika Sirohi, 2016
James Weger, 2016
Albert Auguste, 2015
Rebecca Hamlin, 2015
Lewis Hun, 2015
Stacy Scroggs, 2015
Nunya Chotiwan, 2014
Brittany Dodson, 2014
Nisha Duggal, 2014
Nathan Grubaugh, 2014
Meghan Elizabeth Hermance, 2014

Kelly Labell Student Travel Award Recipients - Award No Longer Available

Nicholas Bergren, 2013
Andrea Bingham, 2012
Patrick Vander Kelen, 2011
Sheri Anderson, 2010
Nicole Arrigo, 2009

Robert E. Shope International Fellowship in Infectious Diseases

ACAV Executive Council Members

ACAV Subcommittees

Subcommittees are an important part of the ACAV and are formed when sufficient interest is presented to the executive council by ACAV members. The council reviews proposed subcommittees and decides whether a particular subcommittee is needed. When council approves the formation of a subcommittee, it appoints a chairperson. The subcommittee chairperson, in consultation with the ACAV chairperson, appoints subcommittee members. New subcommittees formalize their objectives and structure. All subcommittees report progress on objectives at the annual meeting to the ACAV.

Subcommittee on Arbovirus Laboratory Safety (SALS)
Eric Mossel (Chair)
Michael Holbrook (Co-Chair)
Harvey Artsob
Kristen Bernard
Sherry Henry
Stephen Higgs
Peter Jahrling
C.J. Peters
Ann Powers
Pierre Rollin
Walter Tabachnick
Robert Tesh
Scott Weaver

Subcommittee for Evaluation of Arthropod-Borne Status
Michael Turell (Chair)
Harvey Artsob
Greg Ebel
Steve Higgs
Robbin Lindsay
Donald McLean (retired)
Chris Whitehouse

Subcommittee on Information Exchange (SIE)
Ann Powers (Chair)
Carol Blair
Mike Drebot
Brian Hjelle
Tom Ksiazek
Desiree LaBeaud
Christopher Mores
Pierre Rollin
Robert Tesh
Mike Turell
Scott Weaver

Subcommittee on Inter-relationships Among Catalogued Arboviruses (SIRACA)
Nikos Vasilakis (Chair)
Nicole Arrigo
Carol Blair
Thomas Briese
Charlie Calisher
Rebecca Christofferson
Gerhard Dobler
Mike Drebot
Andrew Haddow
Brian Hjelle
Tom Ksiazek
Jim LeDuc
Emelissa Mendoza
Christopher Mores
Ann Powers
Pat Repik
John Roehrig
Connie Schmaljohn
Robert Tesh
Scott Weaver