Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Two-Time Lasker Awardee and Internationally Acclaimed Virologist, Robert C. Gallo, MD, To Step Down as Director of UM School of Medicine’s Institute of Human Virology (IHV)
Robert C. Gallo, MD, one of the world’s leading virologists and cancer researchers, announced he has stepped down from his position as Director of the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), effective March 24.
Monday, March 06, 2023
Eradicating Polio Will Require Changing the Current Public Health Strategy
The recent public health emergency declarations in New York and London due to polio infections and detection of the virus in these cities’ wastewater strongly indicate that polio is no longer close to being eradicated. Now, four members of the Global Virus Network (GVN) proposed changes in global polio eradication strategy to get the world back on track to one day eliminating polio’s threat.
Tuesday, February 07, 2023
HIV Treatment and Prevention in Zambian Prisons May be Model for Prisons Worldwide
A recent study performed in Zambia by University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM) Institute of Human Virology researchers found that high uptake of HIV preventative medicine, known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), is possible in prison populations with adequate resources and support from the criminal justice health system.
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Institute of Human Virology Director Dr. Robert Gallo Co-Authors STAT Op-Ed with a U.S. Government Call to Action and Road Map for the Future of COVID-19
STAT today published "How the Biden administration’s Covid preparedness policies could narrow America’s political divide" co-authored by leadership of the Global Virus Network (GVN), representing 68 Centers of Excellence and 11 Affiliates in 37 countries, and comprising foremost experts in every class of virus causing disease in humans and some animals. The opinion piece calls on the Biden Administration to “follow the science” in updating COVID-19 preparedness policies to align with the indefinite endemic phase the country is now facing.
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
BBC: The scientist who smuggled HIV in her bag into her country to study it and save lives
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome, AIDS, had been recognized as a new disease in 1981, when an increasing number of young homosexuals died of unusual infections and rare cancers. It was also known to affect intravenous drug users and some were known to have contracted it through blood transfusions.
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Baltimore Banner: Hunt for infectious disease treatments takes on new urgency
When monkeypox cases began spiking in early June, some of those infected and at risk were dismayed that there weren’t proven therapies ready. There was a promising treatment, tested in animals but not humans, for the infections regularly seen in Africa but rarely reported in Europe or North America. The drug was used sparingly before the emergency began abating. But instead of putting the tecovirimat, or TPOXX, back on the shelf, researchers at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere launched a major study to confirm it worked for monekypox, now known as mpox.
Friday, January 06, 2023
USA Today: Fact check: Research proves HIV is the cause of AIDS, contrary to viral claim
The claim: There is no proof HIV is the cause of AIDS. A Dec. 15 Facebook video shows Kary Mullis, a scientist known for denying the link between HIV and AIDS, claiming again there is no proof HIV is the cause of AIDS. The post was shared more than 1,000 times in a week. The clip comes from a 2009 documentary that promoted AIDS denialism, which has more than 300,000 views on YouTube.