Science

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.

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 Anne Arthur, Guest Writer

The Second Annual David Derse Memorial Lecture and Award presentation was held on November 12, 2013, at the NCI at Frederick Conference Center to honor David Derse’s outstanding research accomplishments and to stimulate the exchange of innovative ideas that Derse was well known for promoting throughout his scientific career.

The Annual David Derse Memorial Lecture and Award is sponsored by the HIV Drug Resistance Program, with support from Hye Kyung Chung-Derse, Ph.D., the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and colleagues and friends of Derse who contributed to the memorial fund in his honor.

The NCI at Frederick Office of Scientific Operations and the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) have just released seven informational videos describing the people and mission of FNLCR.

Each of the videos covers a different aspect of FNLCR, from showcasing how the Biopharmaceutical Development Program responds to new challenges in drug development to the new mission of accelerating progress against gene mutations that account for one-third of all cancers.

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

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.