George Vande Woude, Ph.D., Van Andel Institute’s founding director of research, recently received the Fellowship Award in Biological Science from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The AAAS bestows this annual award to a select number of scientists who are honored for their meritorious efforts to advance science or its applications.

The HIV Drug Resistance Program (HIV DRP), Center for Cancer Research (CCR), will hold a conference on “Host Factors and Cofactors in HIV Infection” at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) campus in Frederick, Md., on Feb. 25, from 1:00 to 5:35 p.m.

Humans play host to trillions of microorganisms that help our bodies perform basic functions, like digestion, growth, and fighting disease. In fact, bacterial cells outnumber the human cells in our bodies by 10 to 1. The tens of trillions of microorganisms thriving in our intestines are known as gut microbiota, and those that are not harmful to us are referred to as commensal microbiota. In a recent paper in Science, NCI scientists described their discovery that, in mice, the presence of commensal microbiota is needed for successful response to cancer therapy.

Researchers are working to develop a more authentic animal model of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and AIDS that is expected to speed up studies of experimental treatments and vaccines.

Scientists at the Oregon Health & Science University and the AIDS and Cancer Virus Program of the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research have used a novel vaccine approach to achieve a “functional cure” and apparent eradication of infection with a monkey version of the AIDS virus.