John F. Alderete, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology at the Health Science Center, has been elected to membership in the Mexican Academy of Sciences, the Mexican equivalent of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Alderete has devoted much of his research career to the understanding and treatment of the sexually transmitted disease trichomoniasis, which affects as many as 10 million women in the U.S. and 350 million worldwide. His work in the laboratory has yielded the first-ever point-of-care diagnostic test for the infection. The test is hugely sensitive and specific.
He has mentored young Hispanics seeking doctorates in the sciences and has worked with many young people to inspire them to move forward in their education.
Dr. Alderete earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and biology from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology at Socorro and a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Kansas at Lawrence. He is a life member and former president of the Society for the Advancement of Chicano and Native American Scientists (SACNAS) and a member of many other professional scientific societies. Dr. Alderete is the recipient of the 2003 Distinguished Scientist Award from the SACNAS, was honored as a distinguished nominee for the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to Science in 2000, and was honored by being included as one of the best and brightest Hispanic scientists in the nation at the National Atomic Museum in Albuquerque, N.M., in 2001. He received the 1992 Premio Encuentro Award in Science and Technology, the highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the Hispanic community in America.
