Talk by Top US Scientist Dr. Robert C. Gallo

World Renowned US Virology Scientist, Dr. Robert C. Gallo (co-discoverer of HIV/Aids virus) gives Seminar on:
Lessons and ideas from the two recent pandemics - HIV/AIDS and SARS-CoV-2/CoVID-19 - and how we can and must do better.
Tuesday, 14 December 2021
1.00 pm - 2.30 pm GMT (Irish time)
University College Cork - Centre for Global Development is delighted to present this top event as part of the Lunchtime Seminar Series. The event will be co-hosted by UCC Research Staff Association.
Register via EVENTBRITE for the event today, and you will receive a Zoom link one hour before the event starts!
Abstract:
Pan of course means all and implies that an infection is global. Equally it should imply we must solve it everywhere not only in our back yard even for the selfish reason that if we do not it will likely comeback to us. A pandemic is preceded by CHANGE - in the genome of the causative agent and/or in society. To solve the problem it is far more important to be working together than it is to solve the origin of the virus, a purpose to often preoccupying so many in the CoVID-19 story.
Dr. Gallo will discuss the limits of our memories of past pandemics, lessons from them, but note that sometimes the great scientific differences among some viruses (like HIV and Coronaviruses) thereby precluding drawing too many inferential lessons applicable one to the other.
He will discuss where we stand today in the science of HIV— our advances, limits and new goals, and turn to CoVID-19 — the problems with therapy, the efficacious vaccines but also their limits and the great need for their global distribution. He will conclude with new ideas: the possible relevance of innate immunity and its stimulation by available old vaccines and then the GLOBAL VIRUS NETWORK (GVN): what it is, its purposes, and as a pathway for medical-scientists to contribute to global health equity.
Profile:
Since 1996 Dr. Robert C. Gallo has been Director of the Institute of Human Virology and the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Co-Founder and Scientific Advisor of the Global Virus Network (GVN). Previously (for 30 years), he was at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, MD. While at NCI, he and his co-workers discovered interleukin-2 (Il-2) in 1976. Il-2 was one of the first cytokines (“messenger” molecules that allow cells to communicate and alter one another’s function) and proved to be a major tool for immunology and the discovery of all human retroviruses. Gallo and his colleagues then opened and pioneered the field of human retrovirology with the discovery of the first human retrovirus (HTLV-1) and, along with Japanese investigators, showed it was a cause of a particular form of human leukemia. A year later, he and his group discovered the second known human retrovirus (HTLV-2). Dr. Gallo and his colleagues also co-discovered HIV, the third human retrovirus, and provided the first results to show that HIV was the cause of AIDS. They also developed the life-saving HIV blood test. In 1986 he and his co-workers discovered human herpes virus-6 (HHV-6), the first new herpes virus found in more than 25 years and the cause of Roseola. In 1995 he and his colleagues discovered the first endogenous inhibitors of HIV, namely some of the beta chemokines. This discovery helped in the later discovery of the HIV co-receptor, CCR5, and opened up entirely new approaches to treatment of HIV disease.
Dr. Gallo has been awarded 35 honorary doctorates, is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine (National Academy of Medicine), and is a member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He is also the recipient of numerous scientific honors and awards, most notably twice receiving the Lasker Award (1982, 1986), the Gairdner Foundation International Award (Canada, 1987), the Japan Prize in the field of Science and Technology (1988), the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize (Germany, 1999), the Principe de Asturias Award (Spain, 2000), and the Dan David Prize (Israel, 2009), and VCANBIO award (China, 2020) among many others. According to the Institute for Scientific Information, Dr. Gallo was the most cited scientist in the world 1980-1990, and he was ranked third in the world for scientific impact for the period 1983-2002. He has published close to 1,300 papers.
About CGD's Lunchtime Seminar Series:
The Lunchtime Seminar Series is hosted by UCC's Centre for Global Development (CGD) on a weekly basis under the theme: ‘The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on the SDGs and Global Development’. This time, the UCC Research Staff Association (UCCRSA) is supporting the CGD and co-hosting this event. The Lunchtime Seminar Series is chaired by Dr Rosarii Griffin FRSA (Convenor of CGD Seminar Series & Chair of UCCRSA).