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Marian Kies Memorial Award for 1992
Dr. Elizabeth K. Messersmith

Elizabeth Keith Messersmith was the 1992 recipient of the Marian Kies Award. She completed her doctoral training with Dr. Dianna Redburn at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, studying neural circuitry in the developing retina. During her postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Carla Shatz at the University of California at Berkeley, she characterized the expression of Semaphorin, as well as its functional role as an inhibitory axon guidance molecule. In 1997 Elizabeth began her career with Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., South San Francisco, California, as a research scientist in pharmacology. During her tenure she has been responsible for the filings of 3 investigational new drugs for rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and inflammatory bowel disease. She is currently employed by Elan as Vice President of Pharmacology, overseeing the research programs and drug development strategy for autoimmune diseases.