A team of Dartmouth Medical School researchers presented the results of a seven-year study of a tuberculosis vaccine at the 39th World Conference on Lung Health in Paris on Monday, the Valley News reported Tuesday. The team said the results could be especially effective in treating TB cases complicated by HIV infections. The new vaccine was 36 to 47 percent effective in trials, which exceeds the level of effectiveness usually considered worthwhile for AIDS and TB patients, DMS professor Ford von Reyn said, according to the Valley News. The vaccine is still in an early stage of development, DMS professor Richard Waddell, a member of the Dartmouth research team told the Valley News. Von Reyn said researchers involved in the creation of the vaccine hope to see it work successfully within the next few years. The study was conducted with help from researchers from the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and was sponsored in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. TB is the number one cause of death amongst HIV and AIDS patients, the Valley News said.
St. John's University in St. Joseph, Minn., named a 1970 university graduate, Dan Whalen, as its interim president Tuesday, according to an SJU press release. The current president, Brother Dietrich Reinhart, announced his resignation on Thursday following his recent diagnosis of lung and brain cancer, KSAX-TV, an ABC affiliate in Minnesota, reported. After graduating from St. John's, Whalen earned his master of business administration and master of arts degrees from Stanford University. He has worked for and founded multiple telecommunications companies, was director of health planning for New York state and served as an analyst for the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, among other accomplishments, according to the press release. St. John's, the press release said, will now begin the process of hiring a new president.
Scientists from the University of Chicago, Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago announced their plans to establish the Chicago Tri-Institutional Center for Chemical Methods and Library Development, the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News reported yesterday. With almost $10 million of funding from the National Institutes of Health, the new center aims to focus its research on the synthesis of small molecules and anti-cancer compounds. The results of these studies will be made available to both the greater Chicago area and biology labs nationwide. The Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News said results of studies conducted in this new facility may lead to new therapeutic methods concerning neurodegenerative disorders and infectious diseases. The collaboration will promote efficiency and success in research, according to the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.
