February 2025 Awards and Accolades

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Addison Smith

Addison Smith, a junior studying biomedical science, was accepted into the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) Underrepresented in STEM Undergraduate Travel Award Program, which supported his recent attendance at the annual ORS meeting this month. The ORS is the only international research society focused on orthopaedics and musculoskeletal care. For over 70 years, the Society’s basic, translational, and scientific research has been used to treat patients with musculoskeletal disorders to ultimately enhance their quality and equity of care.

The annual meeting, this year held in Phoenix, brought the orthopaedic community together for five days of scientific education, workshops, networking, exhibits, poster sessions and more. Attendees of all career levels and disciplines gathered to connect and explore the latest innovations in orthopaedics.

He also was accepted into the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research student cohort program. The cohort program is designed for undergraduate, graduate, and medical professional students involved in the bone, mineral and musculoskeletal field. Accepted applicants of the cohort program will benefit from free ASBMR membership (limited to first year participants) as well as monthly webinars covering a wide range of topics relating to professional and career development. During these sessions, students will be given the opportunity to participate and network. Students will be asked to provide feedback on their experiences with the program and other areas of ASBMR membership.

Arvind Varsani

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Arvind Varsani, professor in the School of Life Sciences, core faculty in Center for Evolution and Medicine, Central Arizona-Phoenix Long Term Ecological Research, Biodesign Center for Fundamental & Applied Microbiomics and Senior Global Futures Scientist, was elected as a Fellow to the American Academy of Microbiology. The Academy, the honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology, recognizes excellence, originality, service and leadership in the microbial sciences. 

Varsani is a molecular virologist who works across ecosystems from plants to animals and from the tropics to polar regions. His research uses a combination of traditional virology, microscopy (including transmission electron microscopy), molecular and cellular biology techniques in conjunction with modern sequencing techniques, synthetic biology and bioinformatics to characterise viruses and understand their dynamics.

Varsani is among the top 65 fellows who are elected into the Academy this year. The Academy has over 2,600 fellows representing all subspecialties of the microbial sciences and who are involved in basic and applied research, teaching, public health, industry and government service. The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) is one of the largest professional societies dedicated to the life sciences and is composed of over 37,000 scientists and health practitioners. ASM's mission is to promote and advance the microbial sciences.