Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation

Preet M. Chaudhary, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '95-'98) found that a human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) protein previously thought to help the virus evade attack by the immune system has a direct role in the development of lymphoma. He finds that the protein, called vFLIP13, activates a key pathway involved in the production of lymphocytes and its expression can cause overproduction of these cells, resulting in a tumor.