Biology students hear from one of world's leading HIV researchers

Janel Shoun-Smith | 

Lipscomb's biology seminar series brought top researchers to students in the 2015-16 school year

Dr. James E.K. Hildreth, president and CEO of Nashville’s Meharry Medical College and one of the world’s leading researchers on HIV/AIDS, shared the latest on his research at the Lipscomb University biology department’s annual research seminar series.

In April, Hildreth described to the students his discoveries showing the HIV virus life cycle (how it gets into and out of host cells) and how the virus steals proteins from host cells to hide from the immune system, said series coordinator Amanda Williams, Lipscomb instructor/student research coordinator and Ph.D. candidate at Meharry.

“The biology seminar series is designed to broaden the horizons of senior biology majors and biomolecular sciences graduate students by introducing them to research being done outside the walls of Lipscomb,” she said.

In 2015-16, the series featured three other Nashville professional researchers in addition to Hildreth:

  • E. Michelle Southard-Smith, associate professor at Vanderbilt University, who works on nerve innervation to visceral organs;
  • Klarissa Jackson, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences in Lipscomb’s College of Pharmacy, who holds an National Institutes of Health grant to work toward more effective breast cancer treatments; and
  • Christopher Williams, associate professor of medicine and cancer biology at Vanderbilt, who is working to develop a biomarker for colon cancer.

The seminar series also provides each Lipscomb molecular biology senior student an opportunity to present their research to other biology students and faculty.

“The quality of the research our biology students are presenting is equal to that of the average second-year Ph.D. student.I have been consistently amazed with the high-level work our undergraduate students do on a regular basis,” Williams said.

During Hildreth’s visit, students got a chance to speak one-on-one with the researcher at a reception following his talk.

Hildreth began research on HIV and AIDS in 1986 and his research has been funded through NIH grants for almost two decades. His work focuses on the role of host proteins and lipids in HIV infection. He is internationally recognized for his work demonstrating the importance of cholesterol and specialized membrane regions containing cholesterol in HIV infection.

Hildreth has published more than 90 scientific articles and is the inventor on 11 patents based on his research. A primary focus of his research currently is the development of a vaginal microbicide to block HIV transmission in women.

In 2011, Hildreth received a National Institute of Health Director’s Pioneer Award, given each year to a few select scientists of exceptional creativity who use pioneering approaches to major biomedical or behavioral research challenges. 

Williams hopes Hildreth’s visit will result in a stronger partnership between Lipscomb and Meharry, two institutions that have more in common than most people know, she said. Meharry was established by the Methodist Church, she said, so both Lipscomb and Meharry are committed to faith-based service to mankind.

Recently, Lipscomb’s College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences has also partnered with Meharry in interdisciplinary training exercises for health science students.