Westborough, MA, March 05, 2013 —

The National Board of Trustees at the March of Dimes Foundation has awarded Dr. Gabriel Victora of Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research with a Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research Award grant.

Dr. Victora will be conducting research on “Dissecting the Dynamics of T Cell Help in Germinal Centers by Intravital Microscopy.” He is a Principal Investigator and Fellow at Whitehead Institute in Cambridge. The amount of the grant is $150,000 for a period of two years through January 31, 2015.

The March of Dimes has invested more than $84 million nationally in research and more than $7.9 million through national research grants in Massachusetts.

Some of Dr. Victora’s previous achievements include the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Early Independence Award of 2012. The award allows recipients to accelerate their doctoral career by pursuing independent research. Dr. Victora is a Principal Investigator and leading member of the Victora Lab at Whitehead Institute.

About the March of Dimes:

In 2013, the March of Dimes celebrates its 75^th Anniversary and its ongoing work to help babies get a healthy start in life.  Early research led to the Salk and Sabin polio vaccines that all babies still receive.  Other breakthroughs include new treatments for premature infants and children with birth defects.  About 4 million babies are born each year in the United States, and all have benefitted from March of Dimes lifesaving research and education.

###