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Salk Institute) Associate Professor Janelle Ayres has been awarded a 2018 NIH Director's Pioneer Award by the National Institutes of Health for her innovative research into host-pathogen interactions that promote the health of the host. The highly sought-after grant, which awards $3.5 million in direct costs over five years, 'supports scientists with outstanding records of creativity pursuing new research directions to develop pioneering approaches to major challenges in biomedical and behavioral research,' according to the NIH.