Janice E. Clements
Encyclopedia
Janice Ellen Clements is Vice Dean for Faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
and the Mary Wallace Stanton Professor of Faculty Affairs. She is a professor in the departments of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, Neurology, and Pathology, and has a joint appointment in Molecular Biology and Genetics. Her molecular biology
and virology
research examines lentivirus
es and how they cause neurological diseases
.
in biochemistry from the University of Maryland
. She pursued post-doctoral work at Johns Hopkins during the 1970s, working first with Bernard Weiss and then with Opendra "Bill" Narayan
and Richard T. Johnson
. Along with Diane Griffin
and others, Clements was one of several trainees of Johnson who went on to notable academic careers at Johns Hopkins.
Clements became a faculty member at Johns Hopkins in 1978 as an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and became a full professor in 1990, the 24th woman to achieve this rank at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Clements joined the Division of Comparative Medicine in 1988 and headed its Retrovirus Laboratory from 1992. Clements successfully convinced the school to elevate the division to department-level status, and in 2002 became the first director of the new department, later renamed the Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology.
In 2000, Clements was appointed Vice Dean for the School of Medicine, taking over the duties of Catherine D. DeAngelis
, who had left Johns Hopkins to become the first woman editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association
.
Clements stepped down as director of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology in 2008. Chris Zink
, a longtime colleague of Clements, is the current director.
es, and include the human immunodeficiency viruses
HIV-1 and HIV-2
. Clements was the first to characterize the complex genome
of the lentiviruses, describing the genomic structure of Visna virus
, a lentivirus of sheep. She performed similar work with caprine arthritis encephalitis virus, a closely related virus of goats.
With the discovery of AIDS
and its cause, HIV, Clements' work took on a new dimension of relevance. In 1985, she published an article with HIV co-discoverer Robert Gallo
and others describing the relationship of HIV to Visna virus. This article helped to establish HIV as a lentivirus, not a leukemia virus
as was originally thought. At the time, the origin of HIV was unknown, and Clements' work presented the possibility that HIV could have been transferred to humans from animals. Later, it was found that simian immunodeficiency virus
(SIV) strains from chimpanzee and monkey hosts were the likely progenitors of HIV.
In addition to her work with Visna and CAEV, Clements has conducted extensive research into SIV and HIV. Clements and her laboratory have published over 160 scientific articles. Alongside collaborators Chris Zink and Joseph L. Mankowski, Clements has investigated the innate immune response to retrovirus infection in an animal model of HIV encephalitis. Her recent work includes the use of minocycline
, a common antibiotic often used against acne, to protect against viral encephalitis and slow viral replication. With Zink, Mankowski and HIV researchers Joel Blankson
and Bob Siliciano
, Clements has also developed a model of highly active antiretroviral therapy to study viral reservoirs: where HIV conceals itself in the body.
In 2005, the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine celebrated the promotion of the 100th woman to the rank of full professor in a ceremony organized by Clements and others at Johns Hopkins. The event was entitled "The Legacy of Mary Elizabeth Garrett, 100 Women Professors at Johns Hopkins Medicine" to honor the woman whose financial gift allowed the School of Medicine to begin its first cohort of medical students in 1893. Garrett herself had stressed the importance of equal opportunity in medical education, specifying that the school must allow women and men alike to seek admission and "prizes, dignities or honor that are awarded by competitive examination, or regarded as rewards of merit."
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine , located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., is the academic medical teaching and research arm of Johns Hopkins University. Hopkins has consistently been the nation's number one medical school in the amount of competitive research grants awarded by the National...
and the Mary Wallace Stanton Professor of Faculty Affairs. She is a professor in the departments of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, Neurology, and Pathology, and has a joint appointment in Molecular Biology and Genetics. Her molecular biology
Molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
and virology
Virology
Virology is the study of viruses and virus-like agents: their structure, classification and evolution, their ways to infect and exploit cells for virus reproduction, the diseases they cause, the techniques to isolate and culture them, and their use in research and therapy...
research examines lentivirus
Lentivirus
Lentivirus is a genus of slow viruses of the Retroviridae family, characterized by a long incubation period...
es and how they cause neurological diseases
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
.
Training and career
Clements earned a PhDPHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in biochemistry from the University of Maryland
University of Maryland
When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...
. She pursued post-doctoral work at Johns Hopkins during the 1970s, working first with Bernard Weiss and then with Opendra "Bill" Narayan
Opendra Narayan
Opendra "Bill" Narayan was an AIDS researcher at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the University of Kansas Medical Center. A veterinarian, Narayan researched animal models of HIV...
and Richard T. Johnson
Richard T. Johnson
Richard T. Johnson, M.D., is a physician and scientist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Johnson has been a faculty member in the Department of Neurology since its inception in 1969 and is the former head of the department...
. Along with Diane Griffin
Diane Griffin
Diane Griffin is the Alfred and Jill Sommer Professor and Chair of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She holds joint appointments in the departments of Neurology and Medicine. In 2004, Dr...
and others, Clements was one of several trainees of Johnson who went on to notable academic careers at Johns Hopkins.
Clements became a faculty member at Johns Hopkins in 1978 as an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and became a full professor in 1990, the 24th woman to achieve this rank at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Clements joined the Division of Comparative Medicine in 1988 and headed its Retrovirus Laboratory from 1992. Clements successfully convinced the school to elevate the division to department-level status, and in 2002 became the first director of the new department, later renamed the Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology.
In 2000, Clements was appointed Vice Dean for the School of Medicine, taking over the duties of Catherine D. DeAngelis
Catherine D. DeAngelis
Catherine D. DeAngelis, MD, is the first woman and the first pediatrician to become editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association . She has also edited several additional medical journals...
, who had left Johns Hopkins to become the first woman editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association
Journal of the American Medical Association
The Journal of the American Medical Association is a weekly, peer-reviewed, medical journal, published by the American Medical Association. Beginning in July 2011, the editor in chief will be Howard C. Bauchner, vice chairman of pediatrics at Boston University’s School of Medicine, replacing ...
.
Clements stepped down as director of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology in 2008. Chris Zink
M. Christine Zink
M. Christine "Chris" Zink DVM, PhD, ACVP, is the director of the Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She also holds professorships in the Department of Pathology at Johns Hopkins and in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology...
, a longtime colleague of Clements, is the current director.
Research
Clements has conducted and led research into numerous viruses, concentrating on the animal lentiviruses. Lentiviruses are a complex type of retrovirusRetrovirus
A retrovirus is an RNA virus that is duplicated in a host cell using the reverse transcriptase enzyme to produce DNA from its RNA genome. The DNA is then incorporated into the host's genome by an integrase enzyme. The virus thereafter replicates as part of the host cell's DNA...
es, and include the human immunodeficiency viruses
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
HIV-1 and HIV-2
Subtypes of HIV
One of the obstacles to treatment of the human immunodeficiency virus is its high genetic variability. HIV can be divided into two major types, HIV type 1 and HIV type 2 . HIV-1 is related to viruses found in chimpanzees and gorillas living in western Africa, while HIV-2 viruses are related to...
. Clements was the first to characterize the complex genome
Genome
In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
of the lentiviruses, describing the genomic structure of Visna virus
Visna virus
Visna virus from the genus lentivirinae and subfamily Orthoretrovirinae, is a "prototype" retrovirus that causes encephalitis and chronic pneumonitis in sheep. It is known as visna when found in the brain, and maedi when infecting the lungs...
, a lentivirus of sheep. She performed similar work with caprine arthritis encephalitis virus, a closely related virus of goats.
With the discovery of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
and its cause, HIV, Clements' work took on a new dimension of relevance. In 1985, she published an article with HIV co-discoverer Robert Gallo
Robert Gallo
Robert Charles Gallo is an American biomedical researcher. He is best known for his role in the discovery of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus , the infectious agent responsible for the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome , and he has been a major contributor to subsequent HIV research.Gallo is the...
and others describing the relationship of HIV to Visna virus. This article helped to establish HIV as a lentivirus, not a leukemia virus
Human T-lymphotropic virus
Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 , also called the Adult T-cell lymphoma virus type 1, a virus that has been seriously implicated in several kinds of diseases including HTLV-I-associated myelopathy, Strongyloides stercoralis hyper-infection, and a virus cancer link for leukemia...
as was originally thought. At the time, the origin of HIV was unknown, and Clements' work presented the possibility that HIV could have been transferred to humans from animals. Later, it was found that simian immunodeficiency virus
Simian immunodeficiency virus
Simian immunodeficiency virus , also known as African Green Monkey virus and also as Monkey AIDS is a retrovirus able to infect at least 33 species of African primates...
(SIV) strains from chimpanzee and monkey hosts were the likely progenitors of HIV.
In addition to her work with Visna and CAEV, Clements has conducted extensive research into SIV and HIV. Clements and her laboratory have published over 160 scientific articles. Alongside collaborators Chris Zink and Joseph L. Mankowski, Clements has investigated the innate immune response to retrovirus infection in an animal model of HIV encephalitis. Her recent work includes the use of minocycline
Minocycline
Minocycline is a broad-spectrum tetracycline antibiotic, and has a broader spectrum than the other members of the group. It is a bacteriostatic antibiotic, classified as a long-acting type...
, a common antibiotic often used against acne, to protect against viral encephalitis and slow viral replication. With Zink, Mankowski and HIV researchers Joel Blankson
Joel N. Blankson
Joel N. Blankson, MD, PhD, is an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases. Blankson is an expert on HIV infection, particularly HIV latency and long-term control of HIV infection. He is a lead investigator in studies...
and Bob Siliciano
Robert F. Siliciano
Robert F. Siliciano, MD, PhD, is a professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Siliciano has a joint appointment in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Johns Hopkins...
, Clements has also developed a model of highly active antiretroviral therapy to study viral reservoirs: where HIV conceals itself in the body.
Advocacy
Clements has advocated and fostered the creation of opportunities and supportive environments for women in academia. She is a member of the steering committee of the Johns Hopkins Women's Leadership Council.In 2005, the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine celebrated the promotion of the 100th woman to the rank of full professor in a ceremony organized by Clements and others at Johns Hopkins. The event was entitled "The Legacy of Mary Elizabeth Garrett, 100 Women Professors at Johns Hopkins Medicine" to honor the woman whose financial gift allowed the School of Medicine to begin its first cohort of medical students in 1893. Garrett herself had stressed the importance of equal opportunity in medical education, specifying that the school must allow women and men alike to seek admission and "prizes, dignities or honor that are awarded by competitive examination, or regarded as rewards of merit."