The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

Husky Happenings

Football alumnus honored by Hellenic Hall of Fame Northeastern football alumnus and former athletic development director George Makris was honored last month when he was inducted into the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association Hall of Fame. It was the latest in what has been a series of honors for the former multi-sport star husky. Makris received the Distinguished American Award from the National Football Foundation in 1997. He is a member of the Northeastern University Athletic Association Hall of Fame and the Varsity Club at Matthews Arena was named after him in 1992, according to the Boston Globe. Makris played a key role in renovating the Arena in the 1980s. Nicknamed “Moose” in his football days, Makris still maintains a regular position at Northeastern. The 85-year-old began his career as a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman before coming back to his alma mater, where he has worked ever since.

– John Guilfoil, News Correspondent

NU professor leads anti-tumor research with mice Northeastern professor of pharmaceutical studies Misha Sitkovsky is the lead researcher of a group that has identified a possible mechanism by which tumors in mice escape attack from anti-tumor immune cells, according to a release from the university. The research was conducted by scientists at the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. It shows the escape is possible because of a molecule produced by the tumors that binds to receptors of anti-tumor cell surfaces, which effectively deactivating the cell. “This work may be complementary to efforts of cancer immunologists who have developed many clever ways to improve the development of anti-tumor T cells,” said Elias Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health. Sitkovsky, who is now at the New England Inflammation and Tissue Protection Institute, said longstanding efforts have kept her on her toes. “I have been extremely fascinated and puzzled by the paradoxical coexistence of tumors and anti-tumor immune cells in the same cancer patient,” she said. “I have been considering this contradiction for the past 30 years.”

– Ricky Thompson, News Staff

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