Princeton scientists have taken an important step toward understanding a virus that infects and lies dormant in most people, but emerges as a serious illness in transplant patients, some newborns and other people with weakened immune systems.

The virus, called human cytomegalovirus, enters the bone marrow and can hide there for a lifetime. Until now, however, scientists had not been able to study the virus in its latent stage because it infects only humans and does not readily infect or become dormant in laboratory strains of bone marrow cells.

In a study published online Nov. 27, Felicia Goodrum, a postdoctoral fellow, and Tom Shenk, a professor of molecular biology, demonstrated a laboratory system for studying the virus in its latent stage. They showed they could establish a latent infection in freshly collected bone marrow cells and then retrigger an active infection. They drew on their system to discover a set of genes that the virus uses in its latent state and that may give the virus its great capacity for stealth.

Knowing what genes the virus uses to hide and re-emerge could give pharmaceutical companies targets for designing drugs that disrupt those mechanisms. "So you could dream that some day in the future we could clear the virus from a person and not just treat the symptoms that occur when the virus re-emerges," said Shenk.

Cytomegalovirus is in a broad family of herpes-related viruses, which includes the virus that causes chicken pox and shingles. The only treatment doctors currently have for cytomegalovirus is an antiviral drug called gancyclovir, which stops the virus from replicating during its active infection phase, but has no effect during the latent stage, when the virus does not replicate.

The researchers described their results in an online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It is scheduled to appear in the journal's Dec. 10 print edition. Goodrum and Shenk collaborated with Craig Jordan of the University of Kentucky Medical Center and Kevin High of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, who supplied human bone marrow cells and expertise in working with them.

The full story is available in a news release.

Under the agreement, the University's contribution will be $110,282 in 2002; will almost double to $200,000 in 2003; and then will increase to $300,000 in 2004, $350,000 in 2005, and $400,000 in 2006. If no new agreement is negotiated at that point, the University donation in subsequent years will increase at the same rate as the municipal tax rate.

"The University has a major stake in the health and vitality of the community and over the years has contributed to the Borough in many ways," said President Shirley M. Tilghman. "This substantial increase in our annual voluntary contribution, at a time when resources generally are constrained, reflects the depth of the University's ongoing commitment to the economic well-being of the Borough and the quality of life for its citizens."

The University also will continue its annual contribution to the Borough on behalf of McCarter Theatre. This contribution is equivalent to the municipal portion of the property taxes that would be paid if the building were on the tax rolls. For 2002, the amount will be $59,000, but it will go up with increases in the municipal tax rate and in the assessed valuation of the facility, which is currently being expanded.

These voluntary donations are in addition to the University's annual property tax payments to the Borough, which last year exceeded $1.9 million; fees for various purposes, including sewer charges, building permits, and affordable housing payments, which last year totaled more than $2.5 million; one-time special project contributions, such as those provided recently to the public library, the school board and the first aid and rescue squad; and a broad range of indirect contributions through public use of its facilities, infrastructure and cultural resources.

The University has been making annual financial contributions to the Borough since 1973, and has been making contributions on behalf of McCarter since 1988, when the facility was removed from the tax rolls. In 1995, the University agreed to increase its annual contribution from $40,000 (which it had been for seven years) to $60,000 and then to increase it by $10,000 per year until it reached $100,000. At that point the contribution would increase at the same pace as the municipal tax rate. This new agreement was developed by a special "Town and Gown Committee" in which the University was represented principally by Director of Community and State Affairs Pam Hersh and Vice President for Public Affairs Robert Durkee.

In the 18th century, the town of Princeton contributed to the University, then known as the College of New Jersey, instead of vice versa. The college in 1756 settled in Princeton, instead of New Brunswick, because the people of Princeton gave a cash incentive to the college for relocating to Princeton from Newark. They offered the college a money grant of 1,000 pounds, 10 acres of campus lands, and 200 woodland acres for fuel.

Daniel Kahneman, a Princeton University psychology professor and a recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in economic sciences, has earned the 2003 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Psychology. Kahneman's former colleague, Amos Tversky, who was a professor of psychology at Stanford University, shared the 2003 award posthumously. The $200,000 prize recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of psychology.

Kahneman has been the Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology and professor of public affairs in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University since 1993.

Working as a team for nearly three decades, Kahneman and Tversky revolutionized the scientific approach to decision-making, ultimately affecting all social sciences and many related disciplines. Kahneman and Tversky demonstrated in experiments that normative mathematical models of probability and choice don't account for most intuitive human judgments and decisions. Instead, a series of psychological principles, often leading to simplification of a problem, guide human behavior in the face of uncertainty. By identifying biases that guide human judgment, Kahneman and Tversky have impacted fields such as economics and medicine.

As a result of their work, Kahneman and Tversky are among the most frequently cited authors in behavioral science. "It is difficult to identify a more influential idea than that of Kahneman and Tversky in the human sciences," the Grawemeyer committee noted.

The full story is available in a news release.

Two graduates of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs who have dedicated their careers to public service have been selected as the 2003 recipients of the University's top honors for alumni.

Peter Bell

Peter Bell, president of CARE USA, and William Frist, U.S. senator from Tennessee, will receive their awards and deliver addresses on campus during Alumni Day activities on Saturday, Feb. 22.

Bell, who earned his MPA in international affairs from Princeton in 1964, will receive the James Madison Medal. Named for the fourth president of the United States and the person many consider Princeton's first graduate student, the medal was established by the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni and is given each year to an alumnus or alumna of the Graduate School who has had a distinguished career, advanced the cause of graduate education or achieved an outstanding record of public service.

	William Frist

Frist, who specialized in health care policy and earned his A.B. from Princeton in 1974, has been chosen for the Woodrow Wilson Award. The honor is bestowed annually upon an undergraduate alumnus or alumna whose career embodies the call to duty in Wilson's famous speech, "Princeton in the Nation's Service." Also a Princeton graduate, Wilson served as president of the University and as president of the United States.

On Alumni Day, Bell will present a lecture titled "Where the End of Poverty Begins" at 9:15 a.m.

Frist will speak on "The Floor of the U.S. Senate as the Operating Theater: Is Transplanting Ideas Any Different From Transplanting Hearts?" at 10:30 a.m.

Both lectures will be open to the public in Richardson Auditorium of Alexander Hall.

The full story is available in a news release.

Laura Shackelton, a senior majoring in molecular biology, has been awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, which provides funding for two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England.

Shackelton, who is from Reno, Nev., has done research in neurovirology and plans to pursue a master's degree in genetics and virology at Oxford. In addition to her biology degree, she is a certificate candidate in Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

"Believing that someday I might have the opportunity to share my knowledge -- to help others understand the dynamic microbial world -- is my inspiration," Shackelton said.

Shackelton also won a Marshall Scholarship, but turned it down to accept the Rhodes.

"Laura's senior thesis project focuses on uncovering the function of a highly conserved, but poorly characterized herpesvirus gene. This project would challenge most graduate students, but Laura has not been intimidated," said Lynn Enquist, professor of molecular biology and Shackelton's thesis advisor. "Recently, she presented her preliminary findings at our weekly laboratory meeting and handled the probing questions from my graduate students and postdoctoral fellows like a veteran."

Shackelton is a two-time winner of Princeton's Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence. She is a captain of Princeton's varsity cross country team and was a 2001 delegate at the Washington Institute for Health Policy. Shackelton also writes science articles for various publications. She has served as a volunteer in a hospital.

Shackelton is one of 32 American students chosen as 2003 Rhodes Scholars from 981 applicants in a nationwide competition. Recipients were chosen on the basis of high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership and physical vigor. The awards were created in 1902 by British philanthropist Cecil Rhodes.

Robert Hutchings, assistant dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, is taking a public service leave of absence to serve as chairman of the U.S. National Intelligence Council. He is expected to assume his new role in early 2003.

Hutchings will report to Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet and coordinate intelligence estimates for President Bush.

"Bob has been an outstanding teacher and administrator here at the Wilson School. We will miss him, but take pride in his achievement. He will serve with distinction at a time of great national need," said Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean of the Woodrow Wilson School. "We look forward to his return upon the completion of his public service."

Hutchings, who has been with the Wilson School since 1997, is expected to return to Princeton in early 2005. Before coming to the University, he had served as director of international studies at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and as a special adviser, with the rank of ambassador, to former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker III, a member of Princeton's Class of 1952. Hutchings also has been director for European affairs at the National Security Council and deputy director of Radio Free Europe.

The National Intelligence Council represents the entire U.S. intelligence community and acts as a center for mid- and long-term strategic thinking about national security issues. The council also includes a vice chairman and 12 national intelligence officers, who are selected from the government, academia and the private sector. Its goal is to provide U.S. policymakers with the best and most objective assessments of international developments.

Hutchings has served twice on the council, as director of its analysis group and as deputy national intelligence officer for Europe.

"Bob's wide-ranging career in public service, including experience both as an analyst and a consumer of intelligence, make him an ideal choice to lead the NIC as it grows and adapts to meet an unprecedented demand from policymakers for intelligence community products," Tenet said.

Hutchings is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and holds a Ph.D. in government from the University of Virginia.

Daniel Kahneman at the award ceremony

Princeton University psychology professor Daniel Kahneman was awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize in economic sciences at a ceremony Dec. 10 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Kahneman has been the Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology and professor of public affairs in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University since 1993. He shares the award with Vernon Smith, a professor of economics and law at George Mason University.

In his congratulatory speech, Professor Lars-Göran Nilsson cited Kahneman for his contributions, along with the late Amos Tversky, to the field of economic theory. Nilsson, a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, noted that Kahneman and Tversky "conducted a series of classical experiments to reveal how human judgment under uncertainty adheres to systematic rules of thumb or shortcuts."

Prior to receiving the award, Kahneman was congratulated for his important insights and pioneering research that are guiding a reformulation of economic and financial theory. Kahneman then received his medal and diploma from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

A video of Kahneman's Nobel Prize lecture is available on the Nobel e-Museum Web site.

Earlier this month, Kahneman earned the 2003 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Psychology. Tversky, who was a professor of psychology at Stanford University, shared that award posthumously. The $200,000 prize recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of psychology.

Coverage of Kahneman's Oct. 9 Nobel Prize announcement and a previous news release are available online.

Maureen Nash, a human resources professional with more than 20 years of experience in the field, has been named vice president for human resources at Princeton University. Her appointment is effective Jan. 1, 2003.

Nash, who has worked on a wide range of human resources initiatives, most recently was vice president for learning and development at the Bristol Myers Squibb Co. in Princeton. Prior to joining BMS in 1999, she led human resources for two businesses at Fidelity Investments in Boston and in Tokyo, and directed organizational effectiveness, development and training at two divisions of Johnson & Johnson. Her other assignments have included supervising industrial relations at the Monsanto Co. and employee relations at Northeastern University.

She will succeed Joan Doig, vice president for human resources since 1996, who retired last December. Daniel Scheiner, a staff member of the Department of Human Resources since 1988, has been serving as acting vice president. He will return to his former position as director of human resources operations, compensation, benefits and systems with a special focus on the implementation of a new Web-based human resources environment.

"Maureen Nash is an outstanding human resources executive with deep experience in organization and management development and organizational learning," said Charles Kalmbach, senior vice president for administration, to whom Nash will report. "She has directed human resources in challenging environments in the U.S. and in Asia and has a proven record of helping organizations become more resilient to and capable of change. She is known for her ability to attract, retain and develop strong human resources teams, which will be essential if we are to achieve our Universitywide goal of making Princeton a great place to work for all of our people. I am looking forward with great anticipation to her joining the administration."

"At this time I would also like to express my sincere appreciation for the effective and able leadership that Acting Vice President Dan Scheiner has provided to the human resources staff, to me personally and to this institution more broadly over the last year," Kalmbach continued. "The initiatives he has launched have laid the foundation for one of the key objectives of our administration -- the establishment of one deeply credentialed Department of Human Resources to serve the entire University community. Dan has been supported by extraordinary effort from the members of the department during this time of transition. Finally, the entire search process has been greatly aided by the significant personal commitment of time by more than a dozen senior administrators from across the University who served on our advisory committee."

Nash earned a bachelor's degree in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University. She also holds a master's degree in human resource education from Boston University and another master's degree in human development from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

"I am extremely excited about joining a prestigious university such as Princeton," Nash said. "I look forward to blending my diverse experiences with the HR team in continuing to contribute to making Princeton a great place to work."

The Office of Human Resources provides services to the University community in the areas of employee recruitment, employment, compensation, benefits administration, labor/employee relations, and training and development.