Since her childhood, Dr. Heather Shive (Figure 1) has been interested in working with animals. This interest, combined with a love of scientific inquiry, led her on the path to becoming a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) who specializes in anatomic pathology, as well as a cancer researcher.

ORIP participates in two federal grant programs that provide funding to small businesses: the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. The primary goal of ORIP’s small business programs is to attract innovative SBIR/STTR projects that could benefit research resources and communities associated with ORIP’s mission.

In 2015 and 2016, the Zika virus outbreak in South America surprised the global community. In pregnant women, the virus led to a high rate of fetal abnormalities, collectively called congenital Zika syndrome. Babies suffered from such birth defects as microcephaly, which is characterized by a small head and an incompletely developed brain. Although the peak of the outbreak has passed, the risk of another outbreak remains because transmission occurs primarily via infected mosquitos.

Newborns can be exposed to HIV—the virus that causes AIDS—during gestation, birth, or breastfeeding. In general, babies born to mothers who test positive for HIV are screened and tested. If found positive, the babies will receive the standard of care: antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment. Because no cure currently exists for HIV, these babies will receive treatments for the rest of their lives to keep the virus suppressed (i.e.,below detectable levels).

The National Primate Research Centers (NPRCs)¹ Consortium is a collaboration among  the California (CNPRC), Oregon (ONPRC), Southwest (SNPRC), Tulane (TNPRC), Washington (WaNPRC), Wisconsin (WNPRC), and Emory (ENPRC) National Primate Research Centers. Funded by the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Consortium’s mission is to improve global health through biomedical research with NHPs.

Open-Lab Notebook enables rapid, collaborative response to Zika virus research questions.