The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS) has named Dr. Matthew Vogt, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases) and Microbiology & Immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the recipient of its prestigious 2025 Young Investigator Award.
The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS) has named Dr. Matthew Vogt, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases) and Microbiology & Immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the recipient of its prestigious 2025 Young Investigator Award. This national honor recognizes early-career physician-scientists whose independent research has made outstanding contributions to the field of pediatric infectious diseases.
Founded in 1984, PIDS is the world’s largest organization of professionals dedicated to the treatment, control, and eradication of infectious diseases affecting children. Its members include physicians, scientists, and public health leaders committed to advancing clinical care, education, research, and advocacy. Through its journal (JPIDS), annual conferences, and global partnerships, PIDS plays a central role in shaping the future of pediatric infectious disease research and policy.
Society President, William J. Steinbach, MD, shared that, “The Young Investigator Award of our Society is one of the most consequential – indicative of those faculty who are meteoric rising stars and will be the very bedrock of the entire future of our subspecialty.”
Dr. Vogt’s research focuses on the pathogenesis of respiratory viral infections in children, with a particular emphasis on enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), a virus known to cause acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a rare but serious polio-like illness. His laboratory at UNC also investigates how antibodies can prevent or mitigate severe viral diseases, and his work has already led to the development of human monoclonal antibodies for potential therapeutic use, with one having completed Phase I clinical trials in April. Dr. Vogt’s newest research direction is to apply this same expertise to parechoviruses, which can cause fever and encephalitis in newborns.
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