College of Veterinary Medicine professor Kathleen Boris-Lawrie, PhD, has received the 2022 Distinguished Research Career award from the Center for Retrovirus Research at the Ohio State University. 

Boris-Lawrie was selected for the award in recognition of her contributions to the field of retrovirus biology. A retrovirus is a type of virus that carries its genetic blueprint as RNA and replicates by inserting that RNA into the DNA of the host cells it invades. 

Boris-Lawrie’s research includes retroviruses that cause cancer and AIDS and seeks to unravel genetic, biochemical, and biophysical properties of the viral RNA-host protein interactions that promote or restrict viral infection. Her research has increased the understanding of mRNA capping and the regulation of specialized translation.

Boris-Lawrie earned her B.S. and M.S. in microbiology from Southern Illinois University and PhD in molecular genetics from George Washington University School of Medicine. She joined the CVM Department of Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences in 2015 and served as department chair from 2015-2020.