A Yale researcher who studies the molecular biology of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which is linked to many cancers such as Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, has received a $2.1 million, five-year award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The Method to Extend Research Award (MERIT) granted to Dr. I. George Miller, the John F. Enders Professor of Pediatrics, Epidemiology and Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, is given to outstanding established scientists who are conducting significant research in areas of importance to the NIH.
Miller's work on EBV, the first documented human tumor virus, spans nearly 30 years. He has published numerous articles in prestigious journals on the topic. Miller defined the major properties of EBV. Using a wide range of techniques of epidemiology, virology, cell biology, molecular genetics and biochemistry, he has made seminal contributions to the understanding of the pathogenesis of infectious mononucleosis and malignant lymphoproliferative disease.
Miller's current experiments involve the use of molecular genetics and biochemistry, which are integrated into the biology of the virus and address several unresolved issues about the pathogenesis of this human cancer virus. Miller's laboratory also studies the molecular biology of Kaposi's Sarcoma herpes virus. These viruses are associated with a diverse group of human cancers, as well as with benign illnesses.
Miller's ongoing studies address the following questions: How do the viruses affect the growth of normal cells? How do the viruses persist in their target cells? How do the viruses switch from latency, a state of limited viral gene expression, into the vegetative or lytic viral cycle in which the new virus is made? How does the immune system modulate virus-induced cell proliferation, viral replication and the switch between latency and lytic cycle replication?
Miller has recently applied what he has learned from studies of EBV latency to the new gamma herpes virus that is associated with Kaposi's Sarcoma and body cavity lymphomas.
MERIT Awards provide long-term support to investigators with impressive records of scientific achievement in research areas of special importance or promise. Less than 5% of NIH investigators are selected to receive MERIT Awards.
The principal feature of the program is the opportunity for such investigators to gain up to 10 years of grant support. The MERIT Awards are intended to provide investigators with long-term, stable support to foster their continued creativity and spare them some of the administrative burdens associated with frequent preparation and submission of research grant applications.
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