City honors Wistar Institute

Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell proclaimed this week "Wistar Week," as a tribute to 100 years of the Wistar Institute's achievements, at a gala "Cell-A-Bration" held in the Ballroom of the Hotel Atop the Bellevue Friday night. Rendell's announcement launched a week of events honoring the Wistar Institute. The events include a birthday party for the Wistar Building and an awards ceremony for Philadelphia public high school students who won the recent Wistar Biology Essay Contest. Rendell's Chief-of-Staff David Cohen, who spoke on behalf of Rendell, praised Wistar scientists for "a distinguished record of ground-breaking accomplishments." "[Their] achievements have resulted in improved quality of life for millions of people throughout the world," he said. Office of AIDS Research Director William Paul noted that it is "appropriate that the beginning of the second century of the Wistar Institute would mark its revitalized response to the AIDS epidemic, and to the other great disease challenges of humankind." The surprise of the gala was the unveiling of the Robert Fox Center for Structural Biology, named in honor of Fox, who served as Wistar's president for ten years. Current Wistar Director Giovanni Rovera said the Center will focus on eliminating malignant, infectious and degenerative diseases. Rovera added that the Institute's goal for its second century is to "exploit the discoveries in basic science and apply them to the cure and prevention of disease." Hilary Koprowski, who acted as Wistar director until 1991, will be honored today by a symposium of leading international scientists. Fox praised Koprowski for "the growth of the Institute, under his leadership, into a world-renowned center of research."