UMBC Professor Recommended for Renewal as HHMI Investigator

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:00:00 -0500
ovpr-news-2010

Contact:
Anthony Lane
Communications Manager: Science, Technology and Environment
(410) 455-5793
alane@umbc.edu

Michael Summers, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has been recommended for a fourth five-year term as an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

HHMI is a nonprofit medical research organization that provides funding for about 350 investigators across the country to equip and staff their labs as they conduct groundbreaking biomedical research.

Summers, who was recently named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, has been an HHMI investigator since 1994. His research focuses on HIV, the retrovirus that causes AIDS.

Using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, he and his research team — which includes undergraduates, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows — are mapping the internal structure of HIV and related retroviruses, providing insights that could lead to new treatments for AIDS and other human diseases.

“I am thrilled to have HHMI’s continued support,” Summers said. “HHMI has enabled us to take strides in our understanding of HIV’s structure while also developing the talents of young researchers working in the lab.”