Sponsors present the annual David Derse Award to Carol A. Carter, Ph.D. From left: Eric Freed, Ph.D.; Stephen Hughes, Ph.D.; Carter; and Hye-Kyung Chung-Derse, Ph.D.
When people reminisce about the late David Derse, Ph.D., several words invariably get mentioned. Scholar. Mentor. Insightful. Caring. Many who knew him fondly recall him as an exemplar of the intellectual and compassionate sides of science.
The same has been said about Carol A. Carter, Ph.D., SUNY distinguished professor at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, who recently came to NCI Frederick to deliver a scientific lecture in Derse’s honor.
Carter was the invited speaker for the 13th David Derse Memorial Lecture and this year’s recipient of the David Derse Award. Every year since 2012, the HIV Dynamics and Replication Program at NCI Frederick, in partnership with NCI and Hye-Kyung Chung-Derse, Ph.D., Derse’s bereaved spouse and a former NCI Frederick scientist, has invited a distinguished virologist to Frederick to be recognized for outstanding contributions to science.
“It is entirely fitting that we honor his memory in a form that Dave would particularly have liked, a lecture from Carol Carter,” observed Stephen Hughes, Ph.D., NIH scientist emeritus and Derse’s friend, during his opening remarks.
Carter spoke on her laboratory’s decades-long research into the mechanisms that HIV uses to exit infected cells, a critical part of the virus’ life and spread from cell to cell.
“Nothing in the virus’ life cycle becomes it like the leaving of it,” Carter quipped at the beginning of her lecture, in a play on an iconic line from Shakespeare’s Macbeth. “In other words, it’s got to do it right, or else it’s done.”
She went on to describe host cells’ proteins, such as Tsg101 and Nedd4, that HIV uses in key parts of this exiting process. These proteins’ functions, she shared, are susceptible to interference from prazoles, a class of drugs that includes antacids such as esomeprazole and tenatoprazole, when the prazoles are administered directly to the cell. (Carter also clarified that this is a different method of administration than the oral route by which prazoles are normally taken.) With the functions thusly disrupted, HIV fails to get infectious copies of itself out of the cell. The virus is trapped, its lifespan consequently cut short.
What’s in a Legacy?
Judging by the exchange of ideas during the subsequent question-and-answer session, Carter’s lecture intrigued several members of the audience: a fair tribute to Derse, who’s remembered as a scholar with a passion for studying difficult questions.
Derse spent 23 years as a virologist at NCI Frederick until he passed away in 2009. He was known to many in the HIV research community and was a cherished member of the NCI Frederick faculty. Inasmuch as the lecture and award celebrate scientific achievements, they also serve to remind younger scientists about his legacy—and the idea that legacies and relationships underpin so much research, collaboration, and progress.
“Once again, thank you, thank you, thank you,” Carter said upon receiving the Derse Award, going on to acknowledge its namesake. “This is a very special honor for me because I know so many fabulous scientists who are here—and [I] didn’t actually ever meet David during his life but certainly am acquainted with the work that he did.”
Carter’s own legacy bears similarities to Derse’s. Both worked in diverse aspects of virology. Derse investigated herpes simplex virus, HIV-1, and human T-lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1) at various points during his career. Carter has studied the structure of proteins on certain retroviruses and investigated several aspects of HIV-1’s life cycle.
“Carol is not only well known as being a distinguished scientist, but she is also a very caring mentor and role model for younger people in the community,” said Eric Freed, Ph.D., director of the HIV Dynamics and Replication Program, drawing another parallel between Carter and Derse.
Freed added that in addition to being elected to the prestigious American Academy of Microbiology and National Academy of Sciences, Carter has also received multiple awards for promoting diversity and supporting students.
The program’s bestowal of the Derse Award recognizes that, like Derse, Carter’s work in the laboratory and among her peers has left a mark. It was, as Hughes implied, a fitting way to acknowledge the lives that scientists touch—both in life and in death.
The David Derse Memorial Lecture and Award was made possible through the efforts of Terri Burdette and Anna Norris in the HIV Dynamics and Replication Program, coordination from the NCI Frederick Conference Center, and support from the Travel and Conference Planning and Management group at the Frederick National Laboratory. A recording of the event is available through the NIH videocast archive.
Samuel Lopez leads the editorial team in Scientific Publications, Graphics & Media (SPGM). He writes for newsletters; informally serves as an institutional historian; and edits scientific manuscripts, corporate documents, and sundry other written media. SPGM is the creative services department and hub for editing, illustration, graphic design, formatting, multimedia, and training in these areas.
