July 25, 2012

Luiseño student studies virology

Luiseño Student Studies Virology, Hopes to Give Back By Finding CuresTemet McMichael, an enrolled member of the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, has chosen a path in medicine, but not to be the kind of doctor who sees patients.

“I hope to conduct research in the medical field that will progress modern medicine and give back to the Native community,” McMichael, a member of the Amago Clan, said. “My plan is to obtain a Ph.D. in biomedical research with a focus in virology. I aspire to make a difference and contribute to the research field that finds cures and treatments for modern diseases.”
Comment:  For more on Indians and healthcare, see Pueblo Man Develops Marijuana Patch and Basketball-Playing Medical Lab Scientist.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Slight correction: You can't cure viruses; they're not "alive" per se, so you can't "kill" them. You can, however, vaccinate against them. That's what eradicated smallpox. You can also develop therapies to modify your patients' DNA to resist a virus; a promising field in AIDS research is looking at HIV-positive individuals with a variant CCR5-(delta)32 gene, which makes it more difficult for the virus to infect a healthy cell.

Rob said...

You can cure the diseases caused by viruses, can't you? I think that's what the article was talking about.