Medicine

Penn State Hershey Medical Center researcher awarded grant to study retroviruses

Hershey, Pa. -- Michael Katzman, associate professor of medicine and microbiology and immunology, Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, recently was awarded a grant from The W.W. Smith Charitable Trust to study how retroviruses like HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, infect cells.

The one-year grant, titled "The Nuclease Activities of Retroviral Integrase," totals $120,000. Katzman will focus on understanding the structure and function of an enzyme called integrase, which is responsible for incorporating the genetic information of a retrovirus into the DNA of an infected cell. The action of this enzyme makes retroviral infections permanent. In the case of the retrovirus HIV, the action of this enzyme leads to the development of AIDS and some cancers.

"We are very grateful for the generous support of our research by The W.W. Smith Charitable Trust," Katzman said. "We hope that this work will contribute to finding new treatments for AIDS and some cancers."

The W.W. Smith Charitable Trust is a private foundation established in 1977 and based in the Philadelphia area. The Trust funds college financial aid programs, projects that provide food, clothing and shelter to children and the elderly, and medical research projects dealing with cancer, heart disease and AIDS. The Trust was established in the will of William Wikoff Smith, former president and CEO of Kewanee Industries, who died in 1976.

Last Updated March 19, 2009

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