Butel has also contributed to higher education and is a coauthor of a medical microbiology textbook that has been used for over 50 years and in medical colleges around the world. Butel also researched hepatitis B and the role it plays in DNA repair. She has studied the immunology of women going into spaceflight, specifically cytokines and antibodies. Butel has published studies on topics other than SV40. It is suspected that by incorporating SV40 into the vaccine allowed it to enter into our own DNA. It was found that some vaccines contained pieces of SV40 genes. Butel has also studied the role of the polio vaccine and in human SV40 infection and integration of SV40 into our DNA. This was perhaps the most important research of her career. By discovering the role of P53 in SV40 she was able to support the research being conducted on P53 as a tumor-suppressor gene. Butel discovered the role of P53 in the pathogenesis of SV40 and oncogenesis. Butel's research indicates that SV40 may play a role in some human cancers, such as brain tumors and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Thus there is controversy over the exact impact of SV40 on human health. The animal model has been used to research the development of this virus in humans, but can not conclude any definitive pathogenesis of SV40 in humans. The golden hamster is the animal model that SV40 has been studied in and has provided evidence of its pathogenesis in tumor forming cancer. In addition, Butel published an article in 2014 on the use of microRNA and SV40 in golden hamsters. She has published studies on the mechanism of SV40 entry into human cells, the role of SV40 in cancer and SV40 genetics. Ellen Friedman, and others, and more reflections were included in a scrapbook specially made for Butel.Butel has studied polyomavirus SV40 infection in humans and animals for most of her career.
Throughout the day, many colleagues offered personal reflections, including Wheeler, Dr. The symposium was followed by a reception for Butel in Rayzor Lounge, where she was toasted and presented with a commemorative chair. Symposium speakers represented Baylor and other institutions speaking on research topics including antiviral vaccine development, HPV, hepatitis and more. She’s been a great mentor to me from the standpoint of serving in a leadership role at the College.” She became a confidant to me, and I knew I could turn to her when needed. “I first got to know her very well in 2004 when I became interim chair of the pathology department at Baylor. “Janet embodies the signs posted around our campus extolling our values of Respect, Integrity, Innovation and Teamwork,” Wheeler said. Thomas Wheeler, chair of the Department of Pathology & Immunology, spoke about this. As a model tumor virus, SV40 has provided many fundamental insights into the molecular basis of carcinogenesis.Īs a longtime department chair at Baylor, Butel will be remembered not only for her scientific contributions but as a leader and mentor. Originally isolated from monkeys, SV40 is a small DNA virus that is able to transform cells in culture and induce tumors in hamsters. Her work has focused on the biology and molecular biology of the polyomaviruses, with a primary focus on polyomavirus SV40. She has served as department chair for 28 years, and was the founding director of the Baylor College of Medicine-UT Houston Center for AIDS Research, which she has led for more than 20 years.
Paul Klotman, president, CEO and executive dean at Baylor, highlighted Butel’s career as he presented the city proclamation in her honor.īutel was the first woman to have ever been awarded a Baylor endowed professorship, the first woman to chair an academic unit at Baylor and the first woman designated to be a Distinguished Service Professor.
Janet Butel Day by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.ĭr.
6, in Cullen Auditorium and Rayzor Lounge with a full day of scientific lectures and remembrances about Butel’s career achievements. Adam Kuspa view a commemorative scrapbook in her honor.Ī symposium in her honor was held Friday, Jan.