News Brief
May 18, 2017 
RICHLAND, Wash. - Several scientists at the D.O.E.'s Pacific Northwest National Lab were acknowledged recently for their role helping to stem the Ebola epidemic in West Africa 2 years ago.
Mary Lancaster, Kabrena Rodda, Mike Spradling and Katrina Waters were recognized with the Secretary of Energy's Appreciation Award at a recent ceremony at PNNL. The award was presented by Dimitri Kusnezov, chief scientist of DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration, and Lab Director Steven Ashby.
The 4 led a PNNL team which drew on the lab's strengths in fundamental biology, infectious disease, data analytics, emergency response, epidemiology and systems engineering during a critical time in the summer and fall of 2014, soon after the World Health Organization had declared an international health emergency.
Ashby noted that "You tackled an unprecedented challenge with passion, courage and dedication. You clearly went beyond the call of duty to support our nation's response to this historic epidemic."
The virus, which has caused in excess of 11,000 deaths in West Africa, is back in the news this week, with a new outbreak reported in the Congo.
Tags: Fundamental Science, Computational Science, National Security, Awards and Recognizes, Biology, Health Science, Microbiology, Biodetection, Data Analytics, Homeland Security
Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Lab address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. Founded in 1965, PNNL employs 4,400 staff and has an yearly budget of nearly $1 billion. It is managed by Battelle for the D.O.E.'s Office of Science. As the single biggest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, the Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information on PNNL, visit the PNNL News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
