BUSINESS WIRE - 44 Montgomery St, 39th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104; Tel: (415) 986-4422; FAX: (415) 788-5335 - Thursday, 14 November 1996.
The two-day public event, "A Celebration of Biological Science," is in commemoration of the opening of the Institute of Human Virology (IHV), the fulfillment of a longtime vision of Robert C. Gallo, M.D. A pioneering scientist who spent 30 years at the National Institutes of Health and whose laboratory is world-renowned for its seminal discoveries in the field of human retrovirology, Dr. Gallo is credited with discovering the first human retrovirus in 1979, confirming that human retroviruses contribute to other diseases, isolating and characterizing the first human lymphokine and in 1984, co-discovering the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Dr. Gallo also developed the HIV blood test now used around the world, a test that has been credited with saving millions of lives.
"The overall theme of the two-day celebration is `excellence,'" says Hilary Koprowski, M.D., Director of the Institute of Biotechnology and Advanced Molecular Medicine and Center for Neurovirology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia; and a co-organizer and moderator of the meeting. Koprowski is a leading medical researcher who has contributed groundbreaking work in the development of monoclonal antibodies, which are effectively used for the detection of cancer antigens and also in cancer immunotherapy. "Humankind's progress in the understanding of nature is the primary topic to be addressed in Baltimore on November 18 and 19 by one of the finest groups of scientists ever gathered under the same roof," says Koprowski.
The IHV is a new paradigm of biological research that employs a collective approach to the study and treatment of human viral diseases. It is structured to optimize flexibility and creativity and to accelerate the conversion of basic discoveries into potential therapies by linking basic research efforts with epidemiology/population studies and clinical investigations. Research efforts are focused on HIV, cancer, neurological diseases such a multiple sclerosis and a wide range of herpes viruses, which most likely are co-factors in some of the more debilitating illnesses of our time, as well as related clinical studies.
"Viruses are one of the most potent threats to the human species. They confound the success and achievements of 20th-century science and medicine, and the toll they exact in human suffering and economic costs is staggering," says Gallo. "Despite increasing knowledge regarding the fundamental role of viruses in many of the most devastating diseases of our time, there was virtually no institute dedicated to the study of human virology in the U.S., and none in the world specifically designed to move basic discovery from bench to application at bedside."
"The opening of the IHV marks a milestone in Maryland's efforts to advance the future of medical science and biotechnology," says Maryland Governor Parris N. Glendening. "This center is the sole institute in the world that integrates all phases of research on human, virology. As the premier center of viral research and clinical studies in the United States, the IHV is destined to provide solutions to some of the most intractable scientific questions of the 20th century."
The Institute of Human Virology is a partnership of the State of Maryland, the City of Baltimore, the University of Maryland System, the University of Maryland Medical System and Dr. Robert C. Gallo. The IHV is administratively housed within the Medical Biotechnology Center of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute; IHV investigators are joint faculty of the UMBI/MBC, the University of Maryland at Baltimore and the University of Maryland Baltimore County who work closely with the University of Maryland Medical System.
EDITORS' ADVISORY: Fact sheet on Instiute of Human Virology available by calling Chuck Porcari, 410-767-6317./
CONTACT: Mary Moynihan of the Institute of Human Virology, 410-706-8614, or Chuck Porcari of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, 410-767-6317
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