Newswise — SEATTLE – Michael Emerman, Ph.D., a Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center virologist who studies the replication of HIV, has been named editor-in-chief of Virology, one of the oldest journals that specialize in viruses, published by Elsevier. Emerman is the fourth editor-in-chief in the history of the publication, which was founded in 1954. He has long served on the journal’s editorial board.

“Viruses affect all life on Earth, from human health to the ecology of the ocean to the viability of our food supply,” said Emerman, a member of the Human Biology and Basic Sciences divisions at Fred Hutch. “I see being editor-in-chief of Virology as a chance to improve the journal, to take it in new directions and make it the journal of choice for the community of virologists.”

Emerman’s Fred Hutch lab made key discoveries in how HIV infects cells, including the ability of HIV to infect cells that are not actively dividing, transmit rapidly between cells and encode genes that counter host defenses.

Along with collaborator Harmit Malik, Ph.D., a member of the Fred Hutch Human Biology Division, Emerman studies how humans and other primates have evolved to resist ancient viruses and how viruses have evolved to re-adapt to their hosts. This field, called paleovirology, was established by Emerman and Malik as a means to explain how ancient and extinct viruses have had consequences for modern humans.

Emerman, who has been on the Fred Hutch faculty since 1989, is also an affiliate professor in the departments of Microbiology and Global Health at the University of Washington and is director of the Graduate Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, a joint program of Fred Hutch and UW.

He received his Ph.D., from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he worked in the lab of the late Howard Temin, Ph.D., who shared a Nobel Prize for the discovery of reverse transcriptase, the key protein that allows viruses such as HIV to multiply their genomes. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, where he worked in the lab of Luc Montaganier, Ph.D., who shared the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS.

Editor’s note: A photo of Emerman is available upon request.

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About Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, home to three Nobel laureates, interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists seek new and innovative ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. Fred Hutch’s pioneering work in bone marrow transplantation led to the development of immunotherapy, which harnesses the power of the immune system to treat cancer with minimal side effects. An independent, nonprofit research institute based in Seattle, Fred Hutch houses the nation’s first and largest cancer prevention research program, as well as the clinical coordinating center of the Women’s Health Initiative and the international headquarters of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network. Private contributions are essential for enabling Fred Hutch scientists to explore novel research opportunities that lead to important medical breakthroughs. For more information visit www.fhcrc.org or follow Fred Hutch on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier’s online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, Reaxys, ClinicalKey and Mosby’s Nursing Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai’s Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading provider of professional information solutions in the Science, Medical, Legal and Risk and Business sectors, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

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