Peter M. Howley | |
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Occupation | Virologist, university teacher, pathologist, researcher, physician ![]() |
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Peter Maxwell Howley (born October 9, 1946) [1] is an American pathologist, [2] virologist, and professor at Harvard Medical School. [3] He has been president of the American Society for Virology and the American Society for Investigative Pathology and a co-editor of the Annual Review of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease .
Howley was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He graduated in 1968 from Princeton University with an A.B. in chemistry and in 1970 from Rutgers University with an M.M.S. (Master of Medical Science) degree. In 1972 he graduated with an M.D. from Harvard Medical School. From 1972 to 1973 he worked as an intern in pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital. He was a research associate from 1973 to 1975 at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in Bethesda, Maryland. In 1977 he was granted board certification in anatomic pathology. At the NCI's Laboratory of Pathology, Howley was from 1975 to 1976 a resident, from 1976 to 1977 a junior staff pathologist, from 1977 to 1979 a senior investigator, and from 1979 to 1984 Chief of the Viral Oncology and Molecular Pathology Section. From 1984 to 1993 he was Chief of the NCI's Laboratory of Tumor Virus Biology. In 1991, Howley became the George Fabyan Professor of Comparative Pathology at Harvard Medical School. [4] He was the president of the American Society for Virology from 1998 to 1999 [5] and the president of the American Society for Investigative Pathology in 2006. [6] By 2009 he was the Shattuck Professor of Pathology. [7]
Howley is considered to be a leader in research on papillomaviruses. Howley and his co-workers created gene maps of many species of papillomaviruses and analyzed their transcription patterns and systems of transcription regulation. The research identified papillomavirus oncogenes and the molecular mechanisms of their damaging effects. This work is considered fundamental for the understanding of the pathogenesis of papillomaviruses at the molecular level. [8]
His research also involves assessing the roles of the E6AP/UBE3A ubiquitin ligase in human neurogenetic disorders. [8]
Peter M. Howley and David M. Knipe have been co-editors-in-chief, since the 3rd edition, of Fields Virology , a standard work on virology, with 5th edition published in 2006 and 6th edition published in 2013. Howley is also one of the chief editors of The Molecular Basis of Cancer, published by Elsevier. [9] [10] He was a co-editor of the Annual Review of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease from 2007–2015. [11] He is a member of the editorial board of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [8]
He is married with three children. [1]
Peter M. Howley should not be confused with Paul M. Howley, who is a managing director of the vaccine biotechnology firm VAXMED Pty Ltd in Melbourne, Australia. [12]
A capsid is the protein shell of a virus, enclosing its genetic material. It consists of several oligomeric (repeating) structural subunits made of protein called protomers. The observable 3-dimensional morphological subunits, which may or may not correspond to individual proteins, are called capsomeres. The proteins making up the capsid are called capsid proteins or viral coat proteins (VCP). The capsid and inner genome is called the nucleocapsid.
Papillomaviridae is a family of non-enveloped DNA viruses whose members are known as papillomaviruses. Several hundred species of papillomaviruses, traditionally referred to as "types", have been identified infecting all carefully inspected mammals, but also other vertebrates such as birds, snakes, turtles and fish. Infection by most papillomavirus types, depending on the type, is either asymptomatic or causes small benign tumors, known as papillomas or warts. Papillomas caused by some types, however, such as human papillomaviruses 16 and 18, carry a risk of becoming cancerous.
An oncovirus or oncogenic virus is a virus that can cause cancer. This term originated from studies of acutely transforming retroviruses in the 1950–60s, when the term "oncornaviruses" was used to denote their RNA virus origin. With the letters "RNA" removed, it now refers to any virus with a DNA or RNA genome causing cancer and is synonymous with "tumor virus" or "cancer virus". The vast majority of human and animal viruses do not cause cancer, probably because of longstanding co-evolution between the virus and its host. Oncoviruses have been important not only in epidemiology, but also in investigations of cell cycle control mechanisms such as the retinoblastoma protein.
Bovine papillomaviruses (BPV) are a paraphyletic group of DNA viruses of the subfamily Firstpapillomavirinae of Papillomaviridae that are common in cattle. All BPVs have a circular double-stranded DNA genome. Infection causes warts of the skin and alimentary tract, and more rarely cancers of the alimentary tract and urinary bladder. They are also thought to cause the skin tumour equine sarcoid in horses and donkeys.
The Shope papilloma virus (SPV), also known as cottontail rabbit papilloma virus (CRPV) or Kappapapillomavirus 2, is a papillomavirus which infects certain leporids, causing keratinous carcinomas resembling horns, typically on or near the animal's head. The carcinomas can metastasize or become large enough to interfere with the host's ability to eat, causing starvation. Richard E. Shope investigated the horns and discovered the virus in 1933, an important breakthrough in the study of oncoviruses. The virus was originally discovered in cottontail rabbits in the Midwestern U.S., but can also infect brush rabbits, black-tailed jackrabbits, snowshoe hares, European rabbits, and domestic rabbits.
Importin subunit alpha-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the KPNA2 gene.
Importin subunit alpha-3, also known as karyopherin subunit alpha-4, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the KPNA4 gene.
Bromodomain-containing protein 4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the BRD4 gene.
Signal-induced proliferation-associated 1-like protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SIPA1L1 gene.
Peter Palese is a United States microbiologist, researcher, inventor and the Horace W. Goldsmith Professor in the Department of Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, and an expert in the field of RNA viruses.
William A. Haseltine is an American scientist, businessman, author, and philanthropist. He is known for his groundbreaking work on HIV/AIDS and the human genome.
Peter Michael Waterhouse is a British-Australian plant virologist and geneticist. He is a professor at the Queensland University of Technology and a Chief Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture.
David Mahan Knipe is the Higgins Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics in the Department of Microbiology at the Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts and co-chief editor of the reference book Fields Virology. He returned to the Chair of the Program in Virology at Harvard Medical School in 2019, having previously held the position from 2004 through 2016 and served as interim Co-Chair of the Microbiology and Immunobiology Department from 2016 through 2018.
Lutz Gissmann is a German virologist and was head of the division Genome Modifications and Carcinogenesis at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg until his retirement in 2015. Lutz Gissmann is known for his seminal research in the field of human papillomaviruses (HPV) and their causal association with human cancer, especially cervical cancer. In his early work, he demonstrated genetic heterogeneity among HPV isolates leading the way to the now well-established concept of distinct HPV types of which some are associated with specific benign or malignant disease. In the early 1980s in the laboratory of later Nobel Prize laureate Harald zur Hausen he was the first to isolate and characterize HPV16 and HPV18, the two most oncogenic HPV types causing the vast majority of HPV-induced anogenital and head-and-neck cancers. This groundbreaking work of Lutz Gissmann provided experimental evidence for the causal association of specific HPV types with human cancer, and laid the foundation for the development of prophylactic HPV vaccines for the prevention of cervical cancer and other HPV-induced cancers. His current research interest is on development of second generation prophylactic and therapeutic HPV vaccines.
Maurice Green was an American virologist. He is regarded as a pioneer in the study of animal viruses, in particular their role in cancer. Green founded the Institute of Molecular Virology at St. Louis University School of Medicine in the late 1950s, and later served as its chairman.
Sean Whelan is a British-American virologist. He is known for identifying the cellular protein used as a receptor by Ebola virus, for defining the entry pathway that rabies virus uses to enter neurons, and for identifying the ribosome as a possible target for antiviral drugs. In July 2019, he was announced as the new Chair of the Department of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri. In February 2020, Whelan was recognized as the LGBTQ+ Scientist of the Year 2020 by the National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals.
Max Duane Summers is an American molecular biologist and inventor, known for his work on the Baculovirus Expression Vector System (BEVS).
Francis "Frank" Vincent Chisari is a physician, experimental pathologist, virologist, and immunologist, known for his research on virus-host interactions of hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
Channing Joseph Der is an American scientist and educator, and Sarah Graham Kenan Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology, at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Der is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, He is recognized for his work with the Ras oncoprotein and its role in human oncogenesis.
Harry Rubin – February 2, 2020) was an American cell biologist and virologist. He is known for his experimental research on oncoviruses and how cellular microenvironment and cellular aging affect the regulation of cancerous tumors.