First, our new Gladstone faculty member, Shinya Yamanaka and his Kyoto University colleagues have accelerated the pace of stem cell research with their extraordinary work reprogramming adult skin cells to become induced pluripotent stem (iPs) cells. Within days of this achievement, Shinya also reported the ability to do the reprogramming without the cancer gene. We are excited about the possibilities for advancements in this field in 2008. Deepak Srivastava and others in the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease continue to provide the critical mass to advance our stem cell program.

I also applaud Warner Greene on his appointment as president of the Academic Alliance Foundation, which has done so much to advance AIDS education and treatment in Africa. Warner's dedication, abilities, and personal commitment will ensure their continued success of the important work going on in Kampala, Uganda.

New faculty are critical to our work, and we welcome two outstanding new members to the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology. Associate Investigator Melanie Ott studies protein modifications in HIV and hepatitis C virus.

Two new projects have reached the development stage in The Gladstone Center for Translational Research. Gilead Sciences will collaborate with Warner Greene on antagonists against the protein Vif-a key factor in HIV infection. And Eric Verdin's work in HIV latency has resulted in a research agreement with a large international pharmaceutical company in Japan.

We are very happy that, for the third year in a row, Gladstone was ranked in the top 10 places to work in academia in the U.S. by The Scientist. While other institutions have come and gone from the top 10, very few have stayed there. That consistency is a true mark of the excellence and the dedication of our people to make Gladstone the best.

As one example of our continuing efforts to be the best, we have established a program to subsidize childcare for our employees. Affordable and quality childcare is a major impediment to the careers of our young scientists and particularly our women scientists. We thank the Hearst Foundation for their generous support of this program.

It is so gratifying that with each year, the progress we make in our mission to cure major disease and in our development as an organization is so apparent to all of us. I want to thank each and every scientist and staff member who contribute so much every day. I also want to acknowledge our new friends and supporters who participate through collaborations, our Advisory Council, or by making donations to our institutes.