Two University of Wisconsin researchers have received a prestigious award straight from the White House, according to UW officials.

Ana Martinez-Donate, a population health sciences professor, and Martin Zanni, a professor of chemistry, received the 2009 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, according to a statement released by UW Monday.

Martinez-Donate said her research focuses on studying Mexican migrants and immigrants and the changes happening in the context of people migrating from one country to another. She specifically focuses on finding a link between this and risk for HIV infection among migrants and immigrants, she said.

“This is an area of interest for both Mexico and the United States because this is a population that lives in between the two countries,” Martinez-Donate said, referring to the risk of migrants bringing the infection back to Mexico and vice versa.

It is a difficult population to study because the group is mobile, and it is especially hard to report on and reach out to the unauthorized population in order to acquire a representative sample, Martinez-Donate said.

The National Institute of Child and Human Development nominated Martinez-Donate for the award, she said. The group currently funds her research. Martinez-Donate said she was chosen as one of 85 winners selected from nine different federal agencies.

Martinez-Donate and Zanni were both candidates nominated from the National Institutes of Health, the statement said.

Martinez-Donate said the award reflects well on UW.

“Winning this award brings important outside recognition to not only me, but this department and university as well,” Martinez-Donate said. “It really is a win-win for everyone here.”

By winning this award, Martinez-Donate will receive a grant for another five years of research, in which she hopes to continue this research and expand it to address other health-related issues of the Mexican immigrant and migrant population.

Zanni’s lab works with methods for studying complex molecules that are linked to Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and how these molecules develop and move within the human body, the statement said. At press time, Zanni was on an international flight to Japan and could not be reached for comment.

Martinez-Donate and Zanni will be traveling to Washington Dec. 13 to accept their awards at a ceremony and will be greeted by President Barack Obama.