Michael Kiritsy, MD, PhD, a fellow in the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Duke Department of Medicine, has been awarded a Hartwell Biomedical Research Fellowship by The Hartwell Foundation. The award offers two years of support at $50,000 per year.
The fellowship supports scientists in the early stages of their research careers by enabling them to pursue further specialized training as part of professional career development.
Funds from the fellowship will help support Kiritsy’s postdoctoral research. He currently conducts research in the lab of Dennis Ko, PhD, MD, an associate professor in the Departments of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and Medicine. Kiritsy’s work in the Ko lab focuses on cellular and organoid (miniature organ) models of genetic variation to study viral infections that commonly affect children.
“My colleagues in the Ko lab and I are incredibly grateful for the generous support by The Hartwell Foundation and for their mission to improve health through novel research and innovation,” Kiritsy said.
A clinician-scientist, Kiritsy first came to Duke in 2022 for an internal medicine residency, then entered fellowship training in infectious diseases.