Faculty Achievement Recognition
The 2007 Honorees

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Janet K. Yamamoto
Professor
Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine
1993

Degrees earned:
Ph.D., The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, 1981

Professor Janet Yamamoto is co-discoverer of the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) that causes feline AIDS.  She holds patents on the FIV virus, the diagnostic test currently used for feline AIDS, and an effective vaccine.  Her FIV vaccine is the first for any lentiviral disease and has received USDA approval for commercial sales. Yamamoto aims to translate her findings into practical products for use in veterinary medicine.  This past year she published in the journal, AIDS, research that forms the basis of a new subunit vaccine protecting cats against FIV.  This patented discovery paves the way for a future commercial FIV vaccine and has significant direct application in developing a vaccine against HIV.  Yamamoto also is initiating a project to characterize the H5N1 avian flu infection in cats to develop a vaccine for immunity against this emerging pathogen.