Nobel Prize-winning medical researcher David Baltimore will be the guest speaker on June 10 for the 10th anniversary celebration of the Center for Comparative Medicine at the University of California, Davis.

Baltimore, who shared the 1975 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in recognition of his discoveries concerning the replication of tumor viruses, was also an early supporter of government-sponsored AIDS research.

His talk on "Analyzing MicroRNA Function in Genetically Manipulated Mice," will be presented at 3 p.m. in Room 1020 of Gladys Valley Hall. A reception will follow at 5 p.m. at the Center for Comparative Medicine.

Baltimore, who is president emeritus of the California Institute of Technology, shared the Nobel Prize for the discovery of reverse transcriptase, the enzyme essential for the replication of a group of viruses known as retroviruses, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

He also received the 1999 National Medal of Science, and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine. In addition, he is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a foreign member of both the Royal Society of London and the French Academy of Sciences.

"We are particularly honored to have Dr. Baltimore join us," said Stephen Barthold, director of the Center for Comparative Medicine and an expert on Lyme disease. "He is one of the world's most influential biologists and has profoundly influenced national science policy.

"Furthermore, his discovery of reverse transcriptase has significantly influenced research here at the Center for Comparative Medicine," Barthold said. "It has been a key scientific stepping stone for center researchers, including Thomas North, Chris Miller and Paul Luciw, as they study retroviruses in animals as models for HIV and AIDS."

During the anniversary celebration, Baltimore will join other distinguished guests, including California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, who in 1990 authored the California bond act that helped establish funding for construction of research facilities, including the Center for Comparative Medicine.

The center was opened in 1998 as a joint venture of UC Davis' schools of Veterinary Medicine and Medicine. It was designed to address fundamental questions about diseases shared by animals and humans.

The center embodies the philosophy that human and veterinary medicine together comprise "one medicine," a concept developed in the 1960s by the late UC Davis veterinary medical professor Calvin Schwabe. The concept emphasizes the biological similarities between humans and other animals, and the opportunities to advance the health of all through comparative research.

During the past decade, center researchers have investigated viral diseases such as influenza, cytomegaloviral infection and AIDS; bacterial diseases, including Lyme disease, Helicobacter gastritis and tuberculosis; and cancers. Their ongoing research is focused on developing animal models of disease and training veterinarians, physicians and other scientists for careers in comparative medical research and mouse biology.