PNAS Cozzarelli Prize Awarded to Pathak and Hu Labs
A recent study published by the research groups of Vinay Pathak and Wei-Shau Hu in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (“HIV-1 uncoats in the nucleus near sites of integration,” PNAS 117: 5486-5493, 2020) was awarded the 2020 Cozzarelli Prize in the class of Biomedical Sciences. The Cozzarelli Prize is awarded to just 6 papers chosen from nearly 4,000 published research articles, one in each of the 6 classes of the National Academy of Sciences. They represent the top scientific research published in PNAS in 2020. To read more about this award, click here.
Uncoating of an infectious HIV-1 complex is shown at left. Click on the figure for a full caption and here to download the original video (Movie S1 in the paper).
This study was also featured on the website of the Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute (“New study overturns conventional understanding of how HIV infection occurs”) and highlighted on the front cover of the Cold Spring Harbor 2020 Retroviruses Meeting abstract book.
Research by Pathak and Hu Labs Featured on Cover of 2020 Retroviruses Meeting Abstract Book
A recent study published by the research groups of Vinay Pathak and Wei-Shau Hu in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (“HIV-1 uncoats in the nucleus near sites of integration,” PNAS 117:5486-5493, 2020) was featured on the front cover of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory 2020 Retroviruses Meeting abstract book. Pathak lab member Ryan Burdick launched the meeting with his talk on the study and reported that HIV-1 uncoats in the nucleus near sites of integration. Contrary to the prevailing theory for more than 40 years that retroviral uncoating occurs in the cytoplasm, the study team showed that HIV-1 cores are essentially intact as they enter the nucleus, where they complete reverse transcription before uncoating near their sites of integration into the host genome. These unexpected results fundamentally alter the current understanding of HIV-1 replication, which could lead to the development of more effective strategies and drugs for the treatment of HIV infections.
In the cover image, the left panel shows an HIV-1 capsid localized in the nucleus and the right panel shows a site of transcription of the viral genome at the site where the capsid localized. To read more about the study, see the original research article and the commentary "Entering and breaking for HIV?" in Nature Reviews Microbiology.
This study was also awarded the 2020 PNAS Cozzarelli Prize in Biomedical Sciences and featured on the website of the Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute (“New study overturns conventional understanding of how HIV infection occurs”).
Summer Mentor Award
Jonathan Rawson received a 2018 NIH Summer Mentor Award. The NIH Summer Mentor Award Program provides for a centrally funded summer intern to train with qualified postdoctoral fellows, visiting fellows, clinical fellows, and graduate students. Dr. Rawson's trainee is Franck Mbuntcha Bogni, a student who is participating in the NIH Community College Summer Enrichment Program this year.
Award from U.S.-Russia Joint Working Group on Biomedical Research Cooperation
In 2012, Wei-Shau Hu was the recipient of one of the five grants that the U.S.-Russia Joint Working Group on Biomedical Research Cooperation awarded to National Cancer Institute intramural investigators for their highly meritorious research applications. Dr. Hu is the Principal Investigator on a project focused on understanding the impact of HIV-1 recombination and cell-to-cell transmission on vaccine development and chemoprevention strategy.
Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship
Andrea Galli was awarded a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2011 by Copenhagen University.
Howard Temin Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00)
In 2008, Mario P.-S. Chin successfully competed for a Howard Temin Pathway to Independence (PI) Award (K99/R00) from the National Institutes of Health. The PI Award Program establishes and maintains a strong cohort of new and talented NIH-supported independent investigators. Subsequent to receiving this award, Dr. Chin accepted a position at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center (ADARC) in New York as the first ADARC Scholar. At the ADARC, he has established an independent research program that is focused on the evolution and adaption of HIV-1 in response to antiviral drug and host immune selection pressures.
Kitazato Shibasaburo Award
In 2008, Kazushi Motomura won the Kitazato Shibasaburo Award in recognition of the important findings from a study on HIV-1 and HIV-2 recombination that he reported with Jianbo Chen and Wei-Shau Hu (J. Virol. 82: 1923-1933, 2008). This award is one of the most prestigious prizes in the infectious disease field in Japan.
Scholarship Award, Keystone Symposia on HIV Pathogenesis
Michael Moore was awarded a travel scholarship to present his research findings at the 2008 Keystone Symposia on HIV Pathogenesis.
Scholarship Award, International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention
Mario P.-S. Chin was awarded a scholarship to present his findings at the 2007 IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Sydney, Australia.
Poster Awards, Spring Research Festival at NCI-Frederick
Michael Moore and Olga Nikolaitchik won poster awards for their presentations at the NCI-Frederick Spring Research Festival in 2007 and 2006, respectively.