The South Carolina Center for Biotechnology at Claflin University will host a lecture given by Professor Luc Montagnier, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine.

Professor Montagnier, who is the President of the World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention, will speak on “HIV/AIDS: Future Prospects for Controlling Infection” on November 9, 2009 beginning at 11:00am in Moss Auditorium of the W. Vernon Middleton Fine Arts Center at the University.

“Claflin is both privileged and excited to have Dr. Montagnier honor us with a visit during which he will speak on this globally urgent issue offering new insights for controlling this devastating disease,” said Dr. Henry N. Tisdale, the University’s president. “This will also be an opportunity for Dr. Montagnier to observe the ongoing HIV/AIDS research at the South Carolina Center for Biotechnology on our campus.

The Center’s Director and Professor of Biology, Dr. Omar Bagasra, a long-time associate of the Nobel Prize winner, who is also internationally recognized for his research in HIV and molecular immunity, said of the visit, “This is a wonderful opportunity for our undergraduate and graduate students to be exposed to such a great mind.”

Two years after the first reports of cases of what we now know as AIDS, Professor Montagnier and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi discovered the virus that later came to be known as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). An infective agent was suspected by many to cause the disease, and they decided to test whether it might be a so-called retrovirus. The gamble proved correct; their studies revealed retroviral activity in cells taken from a patient’s lymph nodes, and demonstrated that virus from these cells could infect and kill white blood cells. Soon after the discovery of the virus, several groups contributed to the definitive demonstration of HIV as the cause of acquired human immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

In 1983, Dr Montagnier and his team isolated and cultured lymph node cells from patients that had swollen lymph nodes, characteristic of the early stage of acquired immune deficiency. The isolated virus infected and killed lymphocytes from both diseased and healthy donors, mediated cell fusion of T lymphocytes and reacted with antibodies from infected patients. This partly explained how HIV impairs the immune system since the T cells are essential for immune defense.  This was a revolutionary discovery.  It translated into identification of the virus as well as the development of an antibody-based test for detecting the presence of HIV in blood samples of infected individuals.  The culture methods also led to the development of anti-HIV agents that are currently helping millions of HIV-1 infected people.

In the late 1990s, Dr. Bagasra discovered a new kind of immunity that can block HIV replication inside the cells. His findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. He subsequently compiled all the anecdotal data on the new vaccine and invited Dr. Montagnier to write the Forward for his book “HIV and Molecular Immunity.”  In it, he said Bagasra’s use of a technique called in situ polymerase chain reaction “has the potential to bring many of the hazy issues of HIV retro virology into focus.”

 In the Foreword Professor Montagnier wrote. “Dr. Bagasra is not only a skillful, innovative laboratory researcher; he is also a discerning scholar who explores novel ideas, many of which he has discussed with me during scientific conferences.”

Dr. Bagasra continues his exploration of novel ideas through research at the South Carolina Center for Biotechnology and presented a radical new theory in the fight to cure HIV at the 17^th International Conference on AIDS in Mexico City in August.  Most HIV vaccines under development seek to stop the HIV virus from entering a human cell. In contrast, Dr. Bagasra’s paper proposed the development of a vaccine that stops HIV after it’s already inside.

“I’m looking forward to showing Professor Montagnier our state-of-the-art research facility and to introducing him to our graduate students who are engaged in HIV/AIDs research with prospects for an AIDs vaccine.

Professor Luc Montagnier is the co-founder of the World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention and co-directs the Program for International Viral Collaboration. He is also President World Foundation for Medical Research and Prevention, based in Houston. He has received more than 20 major awards, in addition to the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to him for the discovery of HIV, he is the recipient of the Légion d'honneur (Commandeur in 1994; Grand Officier in 2009), the Lasker Award (1986), the Gairdner Award (1987), King Faisal Foundation International Prize (1993) (known as the Arab Nobel Prize) and the Prince of Asturias Award (2000).