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Beatrice Hahn, MD
and George Shaw, MD, PhD to Join Penn
It is with great pleasure that we announce that Drs. Beatrice
Hahn and George Shaw will be joining the faculty of the Department
of Medicine and the Penn Center for AIDS Research in the
School of Medicine. Both are international leaders in human
and simian immunodeficiency virus research and have made
groundbreaking contributions to this field for over two decades.
Dr. Hahn received her MD degree from the University of Munich
Medical School, and pursued postdoctoral studies at the National
Cancer Institute Laboratory of Tumor Cell Virology. She joined
the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology at the University
of Alabama in 1985 where she is currently Professor and Co-Director
of the UAB Center for AIDS Research. She has published over
200 research papers, many of which are senior authored manuscripts
in Science, Nature, Cell and other prominent journals. Her
seminal contributions include developing the first molecular
clone of HIV-1, discovering the origins of HIV-1 and HIV-2
in non-human primate species in Africa, determining the pathogenic
impact of SIV infection on wild chimpanzee populations, and
making fundamental observations in the molecular and virologic
characterization of numerous HIV and SIV genes and isolates.
Her most recent work, reported in the cover story of the
current issue of Nature (September 23, 2010), describes groundbreaking
studies identifying the origin of Plasmodium falciparum,
the most deadly form of malaria, in West African gorillas,
findings that will spearhead new research to understand host/pathogen
interactions that underlie the transmission and pathogenicity
of malaria.
Dr. George Shaw received his MD degree from Ohio State University
and his residency training in Medicine at the University
of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and continued his post-doctoral
studies at the National Cancer Institute Laboratory of Tumor
Cell Virology. He joined the Department of Medicine at UAB
in 1985, and served as Director of the Hematology/Oncology
Division from 1997-2003. In 1997 Dr. Shaw was named an Investigator
of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and he is currently
Professor of Medicine and Microbiology at UAB. Dr. ShawÕs
230 original publications include pioneering studies revealing
the dynamic nature of HIV replication in acute and chronic
infection, HIV escape from host humoral and cellular immune
control, and novel insights into the genetic and biological
features of acutely transmitted isolates of HIV and SIV that
are responsible for the spread of virus between individuals.
His work has also introduced innovative technological advances
that transformed the field of molecular virology, and his
recent studies expanded these concepts to studies of viral
hepatitis.
Drs. Hahn and Shaw are thought leaders not only in the HIV/SIV
field, but more generally in the zoonotic transmission of
human infectious pathogens. Both have been honored with numerous
distinguished lectureships and are members of the Association
of American Physicians. Individually and together, they bring
an extraordinary depth and stature to Penn. Their impact
will extend far beyond the School of Medicine and the Penn
Center for AIDS Research to the entire biomedical research
community on campus, and their recruitment signals the UniversityÕs
commitment to basic and translational research involving
global health pathogens.
Drs. Shaw and Hahn will be joining our campus during 2011.
Please join us in extending to them a very warm welcome to
Penn.
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