Fall 2002 -- Vol. 20, No. 1

FACES OF PENN STATE

Craig E. Cameron
Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Louis Martarano Career Development Professor

Craig Cameron's study of viruses includes rhinovirus, the causative agent of the common cold; coxsackievirus, a cause of chronic heart disease; poliovirus; and hepatitis C—all of which include RNA as their genetic material.

Had Craig Cameron followed his first career path, today he might be a physician waiting with frustration for researchers to provide insights into how to better handle viruses.

Instead, it is Cameron who is trying to understand a class of viruses that cause a wide variety of human diseases so he can pass that information along to physicians.

“When I first went to undergraduate school, I really thought I wanted to become an M.D.,” Cameron said. “I actually applied and was accepted to medical schools. But I spent a lot of time volunteering in hospitals and it just wasn't for me.”

Cameron opted for a microscope in place of a stethoscope. “Because of the research I did as an undergraduate, I saw research as a viable way to help people,” he said. “Viruses were clearly a menace, and we just weren’t equipped to deal with the challenges associated with combatting them.”

The viruses Cameron studies include rhinovirus, the causative agent of the common cold; coxsackievirus, a cause of chronic heart disease; poliovirus; and hepatitis C—all of which include RNA as their genetic material.

“Everything we do in the laboratory goes right into the class I teach in medical virology. Hepatitis C is a very good topic to use, not only because it’s a significant public health issue, but also because I can use it to introduce students to the new understanding of the relationship between a virus and a disease,” Cameron said.

“I like ending the class by giving people some hope that perhaps as a result of some of the research we do here at Penn State, we someday will be able to treat these viruses.”

As a postdoctoral fellow, Cameron was introduced to University Park and, “I didn’t think I was going to like it,” he said. “The biggest intimidation factor for me was the vastness of the population. People were everywhere all the time.”

Having studied at much smaller Howard and Case Western Reserve universities, Cameron wasn’t prepared for University Park’s sprawling, heavily populated environs. “But after the initial shock wore off, I really learned to like it,” he says.

“I like the notion of being able to set my own pace and not necessarily having to be driven by the hectic rhythms of a big city.”

But, for a quick change of scenery on the rare occasions he takes for leisure activities, Cameron knows it’s a short drive home to Cleveland, to his college haunts in Washington, D.C., or to New York City.

Cameron hits the gym in the morning because, “Most of my time is spent in the laboratory,” he said. “Science to me is not only a job, it’s also a hobby. Once I get in the laboratory, I can think I’m going to leave at 6 o’clock and the next thing you know it’s 9 o’clock at night.”

And he doesn’t mind a bit.

“I can’t complain at all,” he said. “I’m happy to get up and go to work every day. Creatively, a lot of what’s in my mind is being played out in the laboratory. That’s nice.”

Andy Elder

Back to Science Journal Fall 2002 Index

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