RSV 2007 Symposium
Tom Braciale organized this years RSV 2007 Symposium at Marco Island, Fl., which ran from noon on the 25th of October to noon on the 28th.
The abstracts kicked off with topics in Viral Structure, Entry, Replication and Cell Biology, with Dr. Gail Wertz from UVA presenting "Natural and Experimental Evolution of HRSV".
The abstract presentations generally included two from each of the following topics: Immunology- Innate and Adaptive aspects, Pathogenesis and Pulmonary Aspects of RSV, Therapeutics, and Vaccines and Clinical aspects of RSV.
You can check out the UVA web site detailing the symposium here: http://faculty.virginia.edu/RSV2007/
If you wish to see the Abstracts of the presentations use this:http://faculty.virginia.edu/RSV2007/Abstracts_Final_Program.pdf
The Collab Immuno Site is Up!
Visit https://collab.itc.virginia.edu/portal and take a look at the description of the new interactive website for the Immunology community at UVA! If you are not able to log in as a member, send an email to Bar2f@virginia.edu. This site is open to additions by members, and has various sections for use by researchers wanting to ask questions or share techniques with others in the field.
New Immunology Trainees for 2007-2008
Twenty trainees and staff in the Immunology Training program met on July 10 at the Carter Center to welcome six new trainees, and to discuss program needs and possible improvements.
Trainees in this case are students or post-docs who have been supported on the Immunology Training Grant. This NIH/NRSA grant pays for their tuition, a modest stipend, an advanced class through the American Association of Immunologists, and some auxiliary expenses.
The new folks are second year MII students Shawn Fahl and Matthew Hufford, and Medical scientist trainees Elizabeth Thompson and Lynn Hassman. We also wecomed Kristian Hargadon, who has joined Dr. Braciale's lab as a postdoctoral fellow, and Dr. Steven Black, a fellow who recently transferred from Dr. Michael Smith's laboratory into Dr. Peter Ernst's lab. (Dr. Smith has recently left for another appointment.)
Michael Stadnisky is continuing his training as a third year MII student and his second year on the Training Grant.
On behalf of all the Beirne Carter Center, we would like to congratulate these new trainees and welcome them to the Immunology Training Program.
Honors and Awards
Timothy L. Pruett has been named President of the Board of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing.
Peter Ernst has been named section editor for the Journal of Immunology. He has also been appointed by the School of Medicine to sit on the P&T committee.
Kodi Ravichandran was Chairman of the Gordon Conference on Apoptotic Cell Recognition and Clearance held June 17-22 at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.
Thomas J. Braciale is serving as organizer of the RSV 2007 meeting to be held October 27-30 on Marco Island, Florida. Dr. Braciale has also been asked to join the Board of Consulting Editors for the Journal of Clinical Investigation, and to join the Kunkel society.
Victor H. Engelhard and Thomas Platts-Mills have been designated Highly-Cited Scientists, meaning they are among the top 250 researchers worldwide cited in a particular research category.
Dean H. Kedes received a Pew Scholars in Biomedicine Award. The Pew Scholars Program is designed to support investigators of outstanding promise in sciences relevant to the advancement of human health.
Klaus Ley was recently named a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society.
Fabio Cominelli, James Roches, Kline Bolton, and Mark Okusa have all been recognized in the last edition of America's Top Doctors as among the top one percent in the nation within their specialty.
The Building of Medical Research Building 6
(MR-6)
The University of Virginia Board of Visitors meeting had in the past approved a $125.8 million plan to boost the university's reputation in scientific research by building two new facilities and launching a campaign to lure rising stars to its faculty. One of these is the new Carter-Harrison building, or MR-6. It will be dedicated to research on vaccine therapy, immunology, infectious diseases and cancer, all of which share similarities at the molecular level.
A major portion of the foundation, as well as significant progress on the superstructure have taken place over the course of 2007. Groundbreaking was in September 2005, construction began in March 2006, and the building should be completed in 2008.
John Macfarlane, a member of the Carter Immunology Center Advisory Board, and his wife, Dudley, have given $100,000 toward the new MR-6 research building. The Macfarlanes are supporting MR-6 because of the space it will provide for immunology research.