He obtained a chemistry degree at University of Ghent in 1971, and he obtained a Ph.D. at the Department of Molecular Biology, under Prof. Walter Fiers, where together with his colleagues, he determined for the first time the structure and regulatory mechanisms of a complete viral DNA genome: the virus SV40.
The SV40 Cancer Foundation is an educational organization devoted to raising awareness about a potential link between the simian virus SV40 and human cancer.
SV40 |
He was awarded the Gabor Medal of the Royal Society in 2005 "in recognition for his work on the small DNA tumour viruses, specifically the papova virus group, papilloma, polyoma and SV40".
On September 10, 2003, the Horwins were successful in getting Congressman Dan Burton, Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness, U.S. Government Reform Committee to hold a hearing into SV40 contamination of vaccines.
TFCP2 is also called Late SV40 factor (LSF) and it is induced by well known oncogene AEG-1.
Robert Pollack, later in 1968, made the observation that some of the cells infected with SV40 or polyoma viruses no longer showed the typical oncogenic phenotype, but instead, acquired a flat morphology (Pollack et al., 1968).