Dr. Byrareddy honored with Wybran Award

Siddappa Byrareddy, PhD, professor and vice chair of research in the UNMC Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neurosciences, received the Joseph Wybran Award from the Society on Neuroimmune Pharmacology in March.

Dr. Byrareddy received the award during the organization’s annual conference in Delhi, India.

The Wybran Award, the highest honor bestowed by the society, is given to an individual who has made extraordinary scientific contributions that have resulted in the preservation and expansion of the field of neuroimmune pharmacology.

The international award is named in honor of the late Dr. Joseph Wybran, an immunologist and physician, who made several important seminal discoveries.

Dr. Byrareddy was recognized for his contributions to the field over the last decade, including studies on immunotherapy, antiviral drugs, substance abuse, HIV reservoir research and gut-brain connections.

“It was really fantastic,” Dr. Byrareddy said of the recognition. “I’m honored.”

Rosemarie Booze, PhD, president of SNIP, told Dr. Byrareddy the organization was “impressed with (his) ability to take on the most difficult, yet critical, scientific questions regarding interactions between the nervous system and the immune system.”

Department chair Howard Gendelman, MD, the Margaret R. Larson Professor of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases and the 2024 president-elect of SNIP, congratulated Dr. Byrareddy on his work and the career-milestone award.

“This is a special achievement that attests to your rapid growth as a scientist and the impact that science has had on humankind,” Dr. Gendelman said.

Two of Dr. Byrareddy’s UNMC mentees also earned recognition from the organization at the same conference. 

Samuel Johnson, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow, and Kabita Pandey, a PhD student, were awarded Early Career Investigator Travel Awards to present posters at the meeting.

Dr. Johnson also received the Arthur Falek Young Investigator Award for the most outstanding poster presentation. The award is named in honor of the first scientist to receive a first National Institute of Drug Abuse grant in 1982 for his work studying drug abuse in the context of AIDS.

The SNIP Award is the second national award Dr. Byrareddy has received recently. In late December, he also was honored as the Outstanding Research Scientist by the Antiviral Research Society. The award was given for his scientific contribution to the field of medical virology and HIV research.