June 2014

By Frank Blanchard, Staff Writer, and Jeff Lifson, Guest Writer

In a research milestone reported in the June 20 issue of the journal Science, scientists have developed a minimally modified version of HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS in infected humans, that is capable of causing progressive infection and AIDS in monkeys. The advance should help create more authentic animal models of the disease and provide a potentially invaluable approach for faster and better preclinical evaluation of new drugs and vaccines.

Fifty-six people joined the facility in January, February, and March 2014.

The National Cancer Institute welcomes…

Shailesh Ambre • Lucia Babini • Hideaki Bando • Sandip Basu • Konstantinos Dimas • Amber Elia • Lan Jin • Yifei Li • Hanhan Liu • Hugo Martinez • Manasi Mayekar • Michele Newton • Sheikh Rahman • Luis Rodriguez • Eric Sterner • Emmanuel Tavares • Yanping Wang • Sarah Watters

By Andrea Frydl, Contributing Writer

In a recent article published in the Journal of Virology, Tianlei Ying, Ph.D., Dimiter Dimitrov, Ph.D., and their colleagues in the Laboratory of Experimental Immunology (LEI), Cancer and Inflammation Program, NCI Center for Cancer Research, reported the identification of three human monoclonal antibodies (m336, m337, and m338) that target the part of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) that is responsible for binding to its receptor. These antibodies are exceptionally potent inhibitors of MERS-CoV infection and also provide a basis for creating a future MERS-CoV vaccine.

By Carolynne Keenan, Contributing Writer

Kevin Zecher, a maintenance mechanic in Facilities Maintenance and Engineering, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., hasn’t missed a double-red cell donation at a blood drive at NCI at Frederick in four years.

He marks the time by his first granddaughter’s birth—that’s when he first decided to donate more than whole blood.

By Nancy Parrish, Staff Writer

In 1973, Susan Koogle commuted from Washington County to a small data processing company in Arlington, Va. When gas prices spiked from 25 to 54 cents a gallon, she began to look for a job closer to home. That’s when she came to work at NCI at Frederick, and in December 2013, she marked her 40th year with the facility.

Platinum Publications are selected from articles by NCI at Frederick scientists published in 21 prestigious science journals. This list represents new publications generated from PubMed as of the date shown above.

Articles designated as Platinum Highlights are noteworthy articles selected by Dr. Craig Reynolds, associate director, National Cancer Institute, from among the most recently published Platinum Publications.