The UAB Department of Microbiology is pleased to welcome Dennis R. Burton, Ph.D., to present the 29th Bertram M. Marx Lecture. Burton, chairman and professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbial Science at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, will present “Progress Toward a Neutralizing Antibody-based HIV Vaccine” on Feb. 1, 2017 at 3 p.m. in Volker Hall, Lecture Room B, 1670 University Boulevard. A reception will follow in the Bevill Biomedical Research Building 170 Lobby, 845 19th Street South.Burton was recently awarded the James and Jessie Minor Chair in Immunology. He received his B.A. in Chemistry from Oxford University and his Ph.D in physical biochemistry from Lund University in Sweden. He is the scientific director of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) Neutralizing Antibody Consortium and Neutralizing Antibody Center, director of The Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery (CHAVI-ID) at Scripps, and a member of the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard. He has held many research grants from the NIH and has published more than 400 papers in scientific journals. He has received numerous awards including the Jenner Fellowship of the Lister Institute and a Fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology. His research is focused on infectious disease, in particular the interplay of antibodies and highly mutable viruses, notably HIV. He is interested in the potential of broadly neutralizing antibodies to inform vaccine design.
The Bertram M. Marx Lectureship, hosted by the UAB Department of Microbiology, supports annual visits to the UAB campus by scientists noted for their work examining the basic biology of cancer, as well as the impact of infection, inflammation and immune regulation on the development of cancer and other chronic diseases. The Marx Lectures are given by top leaders in their respective fields and have included Nobel Laureates and members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.