Biochemist Cameron Named Louis Martarano Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
5 August 2002 --
Craig Cameron, a member
of the Penn State faculty since 1994, has been named the Louis Martarano
Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University.
The Louis Martarano Career Development Professorship, supported by a gift from Louis Martarano, was created to provide critical financial support and encouragement for faculty starting their careers in the Eberly College of Science at Penn State. In addition to providing recognition of the recipient's current achievements, the professorship demonstrates belief in the person's potential to achieve eminence in his or her field. As a result, it provides important support for junior faculty members.
Research in Cameron's laboratory focuses on positive-strand RNA viruses, which cause diseases ranging from the common cold to chronic hepatitis. While infection by some of those viruses can be stopped by the immune system alone or with the help of vaccinations, other similar viruses change so quickly that neither approach works. "Currently, there is no effective therapy for viruses that change so rapidly," Cameron said. "The long-term goal of our laboratory is to define the molecular mechanism of RNA-virus genome replication with the hope of using this information to design strategies to treat diseases caused by this class of viruses."
Cameron completed his postdoctoral work at Penn State after earning his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University in 1993. He earned his bachelor's degree, magna cum laude in chemistry, at Howard University in 1987.
Louis Martarano, the former Director of Project Finance for Merrill Lynch International, graduated from Penn State with a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1976.
