May 06, 2020 | Erika Edwards
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Institute of Human Virology
Jennifer Gonzales
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Monday, July 17, 2023
Researchers from the Institute of Human Virology Discover that a Bacterial Protein Causes Genomic Instability and Contributes to Reduced Fertility, and Birth Defects
A team of researchers from the University of Maryland School of Maryland’s (UMSOM) Institute of Human Virology (IHV), a Center of Excellence of the Global Virus Network (GVN), published new findings that emphasize the crucial role of the urinary and genital tract microbiota in adverse pregnancy outcomes and genomic instability that originate in the womb during fetal development.
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
'Live' Polio Vaccine Fires Up Immune System Providing Protection from SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Two new studies from the Global Virus Network, including the University of Maryland’s Institute of Human Virology and in partnership with the Petroleum Industry Health Organization of Iran, provide evidence that getting the oral polio vaccine made from live, weakened polio-virus may protect people from COVID-19 infection by stimulating the immune system.
Tuesday, May 18, 2021
Institute of Human Virology Leadership Contributes to Global Virus Network Analysis Suggesting Measles, Polio and Tuberculosis Vaccines May Boost Immunity to Coronavirus
Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Maryland scientists, who are also members of the Global Virus Network (GVN), a coalition comprised of human and animal virologists from 63 Centers of Excellence and 11 Affiliates in 35 countries, and colleagues today published a perspective proposing that live attenuated vaccines (LAVs), such as those for tuberculosis, measles, and polio, may induce protective innate immunity that mitigate other infectious diseases, triggering the human body’s natural emergency response to infections including COVID-19 as well as future pandemic threats.
Friday, April 02, 2021
Baltimore Sun: Q&A with Dr. Robert Gallo: ‘The world has to be linked to fight a pandemic’
Robert Gallo, the eminent virologist best known as co-discoverer of the AIDS virus, says the world needs a system to confront viral disease that’s free of politics and primed to quickly warn nations about new threats as if “the bad Martians are coming.” The uneven and politicized response to the coronavirus pandemic, with a worldwide toll approaching 3 million, including 553,000 deaths in the United States, proves Gallo’s point.
Thursday, April 01, 2021
Associated Press: Can I still spread the coronavirus after I’m vaccinated?
Can I still spread the coronavirus after I’m vaccinated? It’s possible. Experts say the risk is low, but are still studying how well the shots blunt the spread of the virus. The current vaccines are highly effective at preventing people from getting seriously sick with COVID-19.
Thursday, February 18, 2021
The Science Advisory Board: The next generation of COVID-19 vaccines: Gallo on next steps
With emergency authorizations for several COVID-19 vaccines under our belt, the question remains if these vaccines will be enough to carry us through the end of the pandemic. Experts agree that there will likely need to be additional vaccines to achieve full recovery. In this two-part series, we discuss what a next-generation COVID-19 vaccine might look like, and which candidates are in the running for authorizations.
Friday, February 12, 2021
The Washington Post: Scientists said claims about China creating the coronavirus were misleading. They went viral anyway.
The spread of the unverified assertions by Chinese scholar Li-Meng Yan, widely dismissed as “flawed,” show how vulnerable scientific sites are to misuse and misunderstanding.
Friday, February 12, 2021
China CDC Weekly: Commentary by Dr. Robert C. Gallo
The Great Coronavirus Pandemic of 2019−2021: the Future and the Requirement for China-America Cooperation - Over the past century, the great pandemics and most epidemics (defined as virus presence and disease induction presenting more than the expected number of infections in a population) were caused by the sudden outbreak of an RNA virus such as the pandemics of influenza, polio, and HIV/AIDS and the epidemics of influenza, Ebola, Dengue, Zika, West Nile, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and Chikungunya.
Tuesday, February 02, 2021
The Baltimore Sun - People who’ve had COVID-19 may not need both doses of the vaccine, University of Maryland study suggests
The Baltimore Sun - A study by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine suggests that people who have already had COVID-19 may not need both doses of the vaccine to be protected from the virus. The emerging research comes as states, including Maryland, face continued vaccine shortages, leaving the growing list of eligible patients to scramble for few available appointments. But experts say that withholding second doses could present logistical obstacles for an already challenged process.
Friday, December 11, 2020
Bloomberg TV Asia: Dr. Robert Gallo on COVID-19 Vaccines
Dr. Robert Gallo, co-founder and international scientific advisor of the Global Virus Network and the co-founder and director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, discusses the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccines. The first Covid-19 vaccine expected to be deployed in the U.S. won the backing of a panel of government advisers, a step that will likely help clear the way for emergency authorization by the Food and Drug Administration. Gallo, who co-discovered HIV as the cause of AIDS in 1984, speaks with Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Australia." (Source: Bloomberg)
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Dr. Robert Gallo on Bloomberg Asia on COVID Vaccine Prospects
Dr. Robert C. Gallo, The Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, co-founder and director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and co-founder and international scientific advisor of the Global Virus Network, discusses the timeline and safety of Covid-19 vaccine trials. He speaks with Shery Ahn and Haidi Stroud-Watts on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia".
Sunday, November 01, 2020
The Scientist: How Some Vaccines Protect Against More than Their Targets
As researchers test existing vaccines for nonspecific protection against COVID-19, immunologists are working to understand how some inoculations protect against pathogens they weren’t designed to fend off.
Thursday, October 08, 2020
NPR: Could The Live Flu Vaccine Help You Fight Off COVID-19?
In case you were still procrastinating getting a flu shot this year, here's another reason to make it a priority. There's a chance the vaccine could offer some protection against COVID-19 itself, says virologist Robert Gallo, who directs the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and is chairman of the Global Virus Network.
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
GVN’s Top Virus Experts Meet Together To Identify Most Promising Advances To Battle COVID-19 & Strategies To Prepare For Future Pandemics
Rapid Diagnostic Testing, Repurposing Drug Therapies and Vaccines Targeting Innate Immunity, Are Integral Factors in Mitigating COVID-19. The Global Virus Network (GVN), a coalition of the world’s leading medical and basic virology research centers working to prevent illness and death from viral disease, convened a press conference with attendees from across the globe to discuss key takeaways from the GVN virtual 2020 Special Annual Meeting held September 23-24, 2020.
Tuesday, September 29, 2020
NPR: Scientists Experiment With TB Vaccine To See If It Slows Spread Of COVID-19
As scientists race to develop a vaccine specific for COVID-19, some researchers are testing an old vaccine, that's been proven safe and is cheap to manufacture, to see if it could slow the pandemic.
Friday, August 28, 2020
WYPR: Could Polio Vaccine Corral Covid-19?
A safe, effective vaccine against Covid-19 could resurrect jobs, send kids back to classrooms--change our lives. But how safe and effective? And how quickly can we have it? Dr. Robert Gallo, the AIDS-research pioneer now leading virus science at the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Global Virus Network, argues we could get much of the benefit by inoculating people with an old, very cheap drug -- the oral Polio vaccine developed seven decades ago. Gallo contends it would trigger our ‘innate immunity’-- the body’s emergency response when a threat shows up.
Monday, August 03, 2020
Eureka, Charles River Laboratories: Could the Oral Polio Vaccine be Used to Prevent COVID-19?
Virologist Robert Gallo, MD, has had a long and storied career in academic and government research. He is the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, co-founder and director of the Institute Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and co-founder and international scientific adviser of the Global Virus Network. Despite his deep roots in HIV, Dr. Gallo’s current focus is, not surprisingly, COVID-19, which emerged in China last year and within four months morphed into a full-blown pandemic. As usual, Dr. Gallo’s research strategy has raised eyebrows. Unlike the antibody and RNA vaccines that are all the rage in COVID-19 science, Gallo is putting his energies behind repurposing the oral polio virus vaccine developed in the 1950s by Albert Sabin.
Friday, July 31, 2020
RollingStone-Useful Idiots: Dr. Robert Gallo on a COVID-19 Vaccine
Dr. Robert Gallo, director of the Institute for Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, joins the show to give his take on the prospects for an effective COVID-19 vaccine. Gallo is skeptical of the approach many organizations are taking with antibody vaccines, citing the similarly low efficacy those treatments had with HIV due to the low durability of the antibodies. Dr. Gallo’s research is mainly related to Oral Polio Vaccine, which he thinks needs to be tested more in regard to innate immunity.
Friday, July 24, 2020
A Statement from the Leadership of the Institute of Human Virology and the Global Virus Network on the Passing of Renowned Chinese Virologist Yi Zeng
The IHV at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Global Virus Network (GVN), a coalition comprised of the world’s preeminent human and animal virologists from 55 Centers of Excellence and 10 Affiliates in 32 countries, collectively mourns the passing of Professor Yi Zeng, MD, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, former President of the Chinese Academy of the Preventive Medicine and former Dean of the College of Life Science and Bioengineering at Beijing University of Technology.
Monday, July 20, 2020
NPR: Early Oxford-AstraZeneca Coronavirus Vaccine Data 'Encouraging,' Scientists Say
Dr. Robert Gallo is quoted about an experimental vaccine candidate being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University to protect against COVID-19 that triggered an immune response against the coronavirus and appeared to be safe.
Tuesday, July 07, 2020
Courthouse News Service: Global Progress on Ending HIV/AIDS Derailed by Covid-19
A United Nations program aimed at eliminating HIV/AIDS released a report Monday showing that the global response to the epidemic has fallen far short of goals set for 2020, in large part due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Monday, July 06, 2020
Sputnik Radio: What If There Is No Vaccine for COVID-19?
On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Robert Gallo, MD, the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, co-founder and director of the Institute Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and co-founder and international scientific adviser of the Global Virus Network. What would you think if someone told you that we already have a vaccine that at least helps fight Covid-19? That may already be the case. Two American scientists, Dr. Robert Gallo and Dr. Konstantin Chumakov, are positing that decades-old live vaccines for things like polio and tuberculosis strengthen the immune system’s first line of defense a more general way to fight infection. And the history books show us that that sometimes translates into at least some cross-protection against completely different viruses.
Friday, July 03, 2020
KUSI San Diego News: Dr. Robert Gallo suggests an oral polio vaccine could help fight coronavirus
Dr. Robert Gallo from the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Global Virus Network wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week. The opinion piece stated that OPV, oral polio vaccine, could be a cheap and effective way to fight coronavirus. Dr. Gallo discussed his opinion piece on Good Morning San Diego.
Thursday, July 02, 2020
13D Global Strategy & Research Report
COVID-19 outbreaks are multiplying and immunity may be short-lived. Could existing “live” vaccines, which stimulate innate immunity, outshine vaccines targeting the “spike” protein?
Thursday, June 25, 2020
The New York Times: Dr. Robert Gallo: The Case for a Stopgap Vaccine
In a letter to the editor to The New York Times entitled, "Dr. Robert Gallo: The Case for a Stopgap Vaccine," the noted virologist and head of the IHV says a polio vaccine may be an ideal solution until we find a Covid-specific vaccine.
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
The New York Times: Decades-Old Soviet Studies Hint at Coronavirus Strategy
The New York Times: Decades-Old Soviet Studies Hint at Coronavirus Strategy: A married pair of virologists in Moscow tested a vaccine on their own children in the 1950s. Now, a side effect they found is sparking new hope for a defense against the coronavirus.
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
France 24: Dr. Mohammad Sajadi Speaks with France 24 on COVID-19 and Seasonality
Does Covid-19 spread faster in winter? Modelling by US researchers suggests the transmission of Covid-19 could be seasonal. Mohammad Sajadi, associate professor at University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute of Human Virology, says the virus first spread in areas of low temperature and low humidity, common to winter time in temperate areas.
Friday, June 12, 2020
The Washington Post: We shouldn’t care who wins the vaccine ‘race’
Dr. Robert Gallo writes a Letter to the Editor to The Washington Post entitled, “We shouldn’t care who wins the vaccine ‘race’,” regarding their June 4 front-page article “Cold War echoes in race for vaccine,” about the “race” among nations, notably the United States, China, and Russia and other European nations for development of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus.
Friday, June 12, 2020
CNN Health: An Existing Polio Vaccine Could Help Protect Against Coronavirus, Top Experts Say
CNN: There is plenty of evidence that existing inoculations such as polio vaccines protect children against a wide range of infections and it's worth trying them out against the new coronavirus, a team of experts wrote in Science magazine Thursday.
Thursday, June 11, 2020
NBC News: Polio Vaccine Could Give Temporary Protection Against COVID-19, Scientists Hope
NBC News: As the world waits for a coronavirus vaccine, some scientists are proposing that existing vaccines could give the body’s immune system a much-needed temporary boost to stave off infection. It’s still unclear whether such an approach would work, and some experts are skeptical. Others — including researchers in Israel, the Netherlands and Australia — are already investigating whether a tuberculosis vaccine could help jump-start the immune system and make COVID-19 less deadly, though the World Health Organization strongly advises against using that vaccine until it’s proven effective against the coronavirus.
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Global Virus Network Suggests Oral Polio Vaccine May Provide Temporary Protection Against COVID-19
The Global Virus Network (GVN), a coalition comprised of the world’s preeminent human and animal virologists from 53 Centers of Excellence, including the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and 10 Affiliates in 32 countries, published a viewpoint in Science today that the stimulation of innate immunity by live attenuated vaccines in general, and oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) in particular, could provide temporary protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Tuesday, June 02, 2020
UM School of Medicine’s Institute of Human Virology Awarded Grants to Strengthen COVID-19 Response in Sub-Saharan Africa
The Center for International Health, Education and Biosecurity (Ciheb) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Institute of Human Virology was awarded $4 million from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response activities in Botswana, Nigeria, Malawi, and Mozambique.
Monday, May 11, 2020
BBC Global News Interviews Dr. Robert Gallo on Oral Polio Vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 and More
Dr. Robert Gallo appeared on BBC World News with Matthew Amroliwala for a one-on-one, lengthy interview during their Coronavirus Explained segment.
Saturday, May 09, 2020
Dr. Robert Gallo Discuss COVID-19 Research on Aljazeera News
Aljazeera discusses the status of therapy, testing and vaccine research on SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 with Dr. Robert Gallo.
Thursday, May 07, 2020
The Disappointing Truth About Antibody Testing: There’s still a lot we don’t know about COVID-19
Dr. Robert Gallo discusses the status of COVID-19 antibody test with Vox's The Verge
Saturday, May 02, 2020
IHV's Dr. Robert Gallo on FOX's Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren
Overtime: Dr. Robert Gallo talks coronavirus treatments and antibody testing.
Saturday, May 02, 2020
Dr. Robert Gallo on iHeart Radio to Discuss COVID-19
Ryan Gorman hosts an iHeartRadio nationwide special featuring experts on COVID-19-related issues, including the co-founder and director of the Institute Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the senior vice president for U.S. Programs & Advocacy at Save the Children, and the managing editor of the Military Times. Topics range from a discussion about why some people infected by the coronavirus are asymptomatic, while others face severe reactions and even death, to assistance for impoverished children, and a breakdown of the impact the virus is having on the U.S. military and veterans.
Friday, May 01, 2020
Could an Oral Polio Vaccine Stop the Coronavirus Pandemic?
A YouTube video by the American Chemical Society and produced by PBS.
Friday, May 01, 2020
NYT Op-Ed Features Gallo-Chumakov Oral Polio Vaccine for COVID-19 Idea
What if We Already Have a Coronavirus Vaccine? Researchers are testing whether decades-old vaccines for polio and tuberculosis could protect against infection.
Monday, April 27, 2020
Expert Breaks Down Coronavirus Research: Is it Worse than HIV? Is it Mutating?
IHV Co-Founder and Director, Robert Gallo, MD is interviewed on LBC, a radio station in the United Kingdom. Darren Adam had Professor Gallo on the line to discuss his research in the past and the work he's carrying out during the coronavirus crisis. "We have learned to live with HIV" Darren began, listing out how it has changed from a death sentence to a disease that humans can live a long life with. He wondered if this could be possibly the path we're taking with Covid-19.
Thursday, April 09, 2020
IHV and Italian Scientists Identify Unique Mutations in SARS-CoV-2 Found in Europe and North America
The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and scientists from Trieste, Italy announced today the characterization of a novel mutation in the RNA polymerase of certain viral strains of SARS-Cov-2 carried by patients located in Europe and North America. In addition, different patterns of mutations were identified in viral strains corresponding to different geographical areas.
Tuesday, December 04, 2018
Institute of Human Virology Researchers Discover That a Bacterial Protein Promotes Cancer
The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) announced today the discovery that DnaK, a protein of the bacterium mycoplasma, interferes with the mycoplasma-infected cell’s ability to respond to and repair DNA damage, a known origin of cancer.
Monday, December 03, 2018
Institute of Human Virology Names Dr. Man Charurat as Director of the Center for International Health, Education, and Biosecurity
The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine today announced the appointment of Man E. Charurat, PhD, MHS, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Epidemiology and Prevention at the IHV as the Director of IHV’s Center for International Health, Education, and Biosecurity (CIHEB). Dr. Charurat will replace Deus Bazira, DrPH, MPH, MBA. The announcement was made by Robert C. Gallo, MD, The Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, Co-Founder and Director of the IHV, and Co-Founder and Director of the Global Virus Network (GVN).
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Institute of Human Virology (IHV) Awarded $12M to Combat Opioid Epidemic Through Clinical Research Trials
The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine will lead a $12 million dollar project to improve the morbidity and mortality of people with opioid use disorder (OUD). Utilizing a novel compound, IHV researches will implement a series of investigations, entitled SEARCH, to evaluate the underlying mechanisms of craving reduction as a strategy to prevent opioid misuse, dependence, and relapse. The grant is awarded through the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative, made possible through groundbreaking funding from the U.S. Congress.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
A Statement from the Leadership of the Institute of Human Virology on the Passing of Stewart Greenebaum
The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine mourns the passing of Stewart Greenebaum, a lifelong Baltimore resident, former president of Greenebaum and Rose Associates, and past chairman of the IHV Board of Advisors, as well as a guiding force in the establishment of the IHV at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
To Mark World AIDS Day, Institute of Human Virology Releases Video on Dr. Robert Gallo
The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) released a video on Dr. Robert Gallo, a trailblazer in HIV research, in advance of World AIDS Day, December 1. While many know Dr. Gallo for his pioneering work in AIDS research, the short video focuses on Dr. Gallo’s life and legacy in its entirety, including his pioneering discovery of human retroviruses.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
"A Call to End HIV/AIDS in America" IHV Director Dr. Robert Gallo's Op-Ed in the Huffington Post
As the new Administration is presented with great challenges facing the United States, one will be a longtime foe, the U.S. HIV/AIDS epidemic. Since President Barack Obama was elected in 2008, I have publicly called on our country’s leaders to utilize the largest global health initiative in history - the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) - as a model to address the U.S. epidemic.
Monday, August 22, 2016
Institute of Human Virology (IHV) Awarded $14.4M for HIV Vaccine Research
The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) announced a $14.4M grant from NIAID to advance HIV vaccine research to solve a major challenge: produce long-lasting antibodies to protect against HIV infection.
Thursday, March 10, 2016
UM SOM Establishes Two Endowed Professorships Through Private Gifts and Matching State Funds
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that the School has been awarded matching funds from the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) as part of the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund program. The funds, when combined with private philanthropy, will enable UM SOM to establish two new endowed professorships – one in human virology and vaccine development, the other in surgical science and entrepreneurship.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Institute of Human Virology Hosts International Meeting of Prominent AIDS Researchers
The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine is hosting IHV’s 17th Annual International Meeting Sunday, September 27 through Wednesday, September 30 at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland.