Dr. Vincent A. Connors, professor of biology at the University of South Carolina Upstate and executive editor of “Comparative Parasitology,” is this year’s recipient of the Helminthological Society of Washington’s Anniversary Award.  He will receive the award at the 720th meeting of the Helminthological Society of Washington in November among a distinguished group of parasitologists primarily from the Washington, D.C. area.

The Helminthological Society of Washington, the prototype scientific organization for parasitological research in North America, was founded in 1910 by a devoted group of parasitologists in Washington, D.C. Forging a niche in national and international parasitology over the past century, the Society focuses on comparative research, emphasizing taxonomy, systematics, ecology, biogeography, and faunal survey inventory within a morphological and molecular foundation. Established in 1960, the Anniversary Award is the Society’s highest honor.

Connors, who has taught at USC Upstate since 1995, received a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship in 2016 and traveled to the Slovak Republic, where he taught graduate seminars and classes in symbiosis and parasitism at Pavel Jozef Safarik University in Kosice. In addition, he conducted research on fish parasitic diseases at the Slovak Academy of Science’s Institute of Parasitology, also in Kosice. His teaching and research focused on parasitic diseases of humans and wildlife.

Connors was the recipient of USC Upstate’s Excellence in Teaching and Advising Award in 2000 and was named the 2015-2016 recipient of the USC Upstate Annual Award for Faculty Excellence in Scholarly and/or Creative Pursuits for scholarly focus on immunobiology with special emphasis on host-parasite relationships. His research holds significant potential for advancing studies in human parasitology and contributes to our knowledge of the natural environment of coastal South Carolina.