Bizarre Antibody May Make AIDS Vaccine Possible
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Medical Students at FSU Law students use DNA to sort the innocent from the guilty eth Miller was among uses DNA tests to challenge con- 26 students who signed up for the students gathered at victions. law Professor Meg Baldwin’s the D’Alemberte Rotun- “Being responsible for an course this summer called “post- da at the FSU College of innocent person walking out of conviction remedies.” SLaw when New York attorney prison would be a highlight in the They learned about the vari- Barry Scheck delivered an lives of most lawyers,” he said. ous outlets of relief for people enticing invitation. “You have a chance to see your who have been convicted and “You have the chance to make legal career peak early.” sentenced and have exhausted a huge difference in people’s Miller, a 23-year-old third- direct appeals. lives,” said Scheck, announcing year student at the College of But the course went beyond the creation of a Florida branch of Law, eagerly grabbed that oppor- book-learning academics to the the Innocence Project, tunity offered in April. clinical experience of research a non-profit legal clin- He was among with real inmates’ real cases. ic he co-founded that “This is a wonderful opportu- (Continued on page 16) September 2003 Courtesy / FSU College of Medicine Natosha Canty, above, plans to be a family physician in a rural communi- ty. Her story and others about the medical school on pages 8-9 Photos by Vida Volkert Photos by Vida FSU biology Professor Kenneth Roux, left, and Research Associate Ping Zhu, right, tracking down the specifics of 2G12, an HIV antibody Bizarre antibody may make AIDS vaccine possible hey are hardworking arms, to hold on tightly to the Roux and FSU Research said. have naturally produced 2G12. little warriors shaped virus and keep it from moving Associate Ping Zhu are among Hermann Katinger, the From that source, the 2G12 anti- like a “Y.” When a and infecting healthy human the 16 scientists who have solved Austrian scientist who isolated body was cloned in test tubes and virus enters the human cells. the “bizarre structure” of the anti- the 2G12 antibody, is one of the 16 the structure was determined by Tbody, the immune system They are the human antibod- body known by scientists as who have studied it ever since, X-ray crystallography and elec- sends an army of those little Ys ies, and if FSU biology Professor “2G12.” Their work was reported including Roux, Zhu and other tron microscopy. The antibody to fight off the disease. Each Y Kenneth Roux’s predictions are June 27 in the journal Science. scientists in England and the has been shown to neutralize heads for one small part of the right, a recently discovered anti- The 2G12 antibody “was iso- United States. from 25 percent to 50 percent of invader’s armor. body might help design a vaccine lated about a decade ago from an Roux said the Austrian AIDS the known strains of HIV. As the tiny warriors encount- against HIV — the virus that Austrian patient who was able to survivor was the only HIV-infect- The power of the 2G12 comes er the invader, they use their two causes AIDS. successfully combat HIV,” Roux ed person known at the time to (Continued on page 16) Tallahassee, FLTallahassee, 32310-6068 1600 Red Barber Plaza Suite 104 Big gift helps tomorrow’s lawyers By Mark Riordan the Jacksonville law firm Brown, Terrell, Special for the FSU Foundation Hogan, Ellis, McClamma and Yegewel. It’s not the first time the Hogans have ts popularity is soaring among undergrad- given to the Summer for Undergraduates uates eager to see if they have what it takes Program. In 2000, as part of a $2-million gift Ito make it in law school, and now the FSU to the university (which received another $2 College of Law’s Summer for Undergradu- million in state matching funds), the Hogans ates Program can double its enrollment, earmarked half of that gift to endow the thanks to a gift from FSU alumnus Wayne Summer for Undergraduates Program. Hogan and his wife, Patricia. The summer program offers college In July, freshmen the Hogans “We had some of the toughest professors at the law school” and sopho- gave $1 mores an million to the law school to permanently dou- intense law-school experience. They come to ble the size of the 12-year-old program to the law school from throughout the country. accommodate 60 students a year. The four-week program includes room and “I am thoroughly impressed with the board, books, materials and a stipend. Tallahassee, FL Tallahassee, Permit #296 PAID U.S. Postage Organization Non-Profit impact this program is having on the stu- “The professors let you know that what dents’ lives,” Wayne Hogan said. A 1972 you do as an undergrad has implications for Phillip M. Pollock graduate of the law school, he is a partner in (Continued on page 5) Wayne Hogan 2 /September 2003 He was ready to go to college—he went to war instead University to join the serv- infectious — and ice. constant — friends “This was something he and family said, felt he needed to do,” said again and again. an uncle, John Aviles. “It “He probably was a moral obligation, could have gotten something he wanted to ful- student-body pres- fill.” ident and class He had two siblings, clown at the same Kristine and Matthew. time,” said Kevin Kristine Aviles said Peterson, Aviles’ Tuesday that her younger best friend. brother started talking dur- There was a ing his junior year of joining softer side, too. the Marine Corps, though “He stood be- he planned to eventually hind me when no earn a business degree from one else would,” Bill Langford / FSU Photo Lab FSU. said close friend T.K. Wetherell, left, presents certificate to Oscar Aviles, Norma Tamayo-Aviles and “He thought it would be Misty Abshear. Matthew Aviles, far right. good for him to learn some- “Even when he felt Andrew Aviles thing new,” she said. down, your feelings came first. friends. A year ago, Andrew Aviles So he went. He finished boot He wouldn’t question you. He’d A letter to a friend that Andrew Aviles was a senior at Robinson High camp in September, then trained just be there for you.” Andrew Aviles sent from the School, the student government in California. He was activated Even after Aviles went to Iraq, Middle East. is FSU alumnus president and a National Honor for duty in January. even after he’d given his life, peo- At the same time, it seems Society member. But in letters from Parris ple couldn’t help but think of him clear that Aviles realized — even Andrew Aviles, 18, a Marine More recently, he was Lance Island, S.C., and from the Middle as a kid. if his friends did not — that being reservist who died in Iraq Cpl. Andrew Aviles, a Marine East, he never stopped handing A Robinson High School grief a soldier in war was a serious instead of going to FSU on a full reservist who drove an amphibi- out smiles to people back home. counselor even called him a “kid” task, with grave risks. academic scholarship, as he and ous tank in Iraq. “It’s freezing cold most of the … before correcting himself. In December, after completing FSU had planned, was declared He hated the sandstorms, but time and there are always gusts of It’s understandable. his training, Aviles returned to an alumnus anyway by FSU felt lucky to be riding alongside wind and heavy sandstorms,” he Pictures from high school and Tampa. He and Peterson played President T.K. Wetherell in a cer- his platoon commander. He fig- wrote to a friend last month. in his military dress blues show a pool at Fatso’s on Busch emony in July. ured on being home by August or “And to think, my dumb a— baby-faced Aviles staring back at Boulevard until 1 or 2 in the Wetherell presented Aviles’ September, he wrote in letters to thought it would be a waste of the camera, usually with a smile. morning. Then Peterson drove family an “alumnus honoris his friends and family. money to get goggles.” Then there’s the talk in his let- his best friend home. causa” certificate. He said it was “I’m a little excited, a little He signed a letter to another ters about girls back home, and Aviles wanted to say a long a new designation created for scared about the whole thing,” he friend, “From where there’s plen- the stories people tell about party- goodbye. Aviles. told his best friend in March. ty of beach but no water, Andy.” ing at the Ybor night parade and “He was like, ‘I don’t know “What it in essence says, “ “Everyone’s telling us that we’re That sense of humor. It was watching silly movies with his what’s going to happen,’ “Peter- Wetherell explained, “is that you pretty much the tip of the spear son said. “He was like, ‘I’ll be all are forever an alumnus of and kicking the door down.” right. But just in case.’ “ Florida State University. It is the Aviles was killed Monday So they hugged. highest honor that we could [April 7] while crossing a bridge Now Peterson and the others devise for someone of Andrew’s in Iraq. He would have turned 19 understand. nature.” in two weeks. “It’s the first friend I’ve ever Aviles graduated third in his Now only his letters remain.