"This award will significantly contribute to my career in the fields of microbiology, immunology and immunotoxicology," said Rivera-Mariani, "[It will help me] apply these biological sciences to study the effect of environmental pollution—both biological and non-biological—in human health."
Every year, LUSH gives the Young Researcher Award to five postdoctoral students who specialize in alternative research in toxicology. It is a field often associated with animal testing, which turns many young scientists away. According to LUSH, those who do stay often find it hard to acquire funding to work on non-animal tests. By rewarding those who pursue toxicology without harming animals, LUSH hopes to attract more young scientists to the field.
Watch below as Rivera-Mariani—who is mentored by Thomas Hartung, MD, PhD and Patrick Breysse, PhD, MHS—explains his award-winning research.
Rivera-Mariani continued, "I will dedicate this funding to facilitate my attendance at national and international scientific meetings to present and promote scientific findings involving non-animal alternative methods."
The LUSH Prize is a collaboration between LUSH, a manufacturer and retailer of handmade cosmetics, and Ethical Consumer. The prize is one element of LUSH’s "Fighting Animal Testing" campaign.
Media contact: Tim Parsons, director of Public Affairs, at 410-955-7619 ortmparson@jhsph.edu.
