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)

Dr. Gallo Announces Transition Plans; Dr. Shyam Kottillil Named Interim Director

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.

Dr. Gallo was Founding Director of the Institute when he and his colleagues established it in 1996, and holds the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology. He now takes on the role as Director Emeritus of IHV and Special Advisor to the Dean at UMSOM before retiring next spring.  

Shyam Kottilil, MBBS, PhD, of the Division of Clinical Care and Research Director at IHV, and Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at UMSOM, will assume the role as Interim Acting Director of IHV.

Dr. Gallo is internationally renowned as a co-discoverer of HIV, the cause of AIDS, and as a two-time recipient of the prestigious Albert Lasker Award – a program established in 1945 to honor individuals who have made major contributions to medical science or who have performed public service on behalf of medicine. He received the first Lasker Award for Basic Science in 1982 for his discovery of the first human RNA tumor virus [the old name for retroviruses] and its association with certain leukemias and lymphomas. In 1986, he received the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for his co-discovery of the retrovirus now known as HIV-1 as the cause of AIDS.

 "The foundation laid by Dr. Gallo and his co-founders, and nearly three decades of progressive scientific achievement since, have ensured IHV’s continued success and position as a global leader in the research of HIV/AIDS and other chronic viral diseases and cancer," said University of Maryland, Baltimore President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS.

Dr. Gallo established the Institute of Human Virology, the first-of-its-kind virology center that combines the disciplines of research, patient care, and prevention in a combined effort to speed the pace of medical breakthroughs and deliver care. Since its inception, the Institute has treated more than 2 million patients worldwide and approximately 5,000 patients each year for a variety of chronic and deadly viruses and immune disorders, most notably HIV. Prior to founding the institute, Dr. Gallo spent 30 years at the National Institutes of Health's National Cancer Institute, where he was head of its Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology.

"Robert Gallo is a world-renowned scientist whose breakthrough discoveries and scholarly contributions have made major contributions to foundational science for more than four decades," said Mark T. Gladwin, MD, the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Vice President, Medical Affairs at University of Maryland, Baltimore. "He is a visionary investigator who has unlocked many important mysteries of human viruses and diseases. Few living scientists have contributed so much to fundamental science, from the discovery of transfer RNAs, DNA polymerase, the first human retroviruses, the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-2, and the molecular basis for viral induced oncogenesis. He has been one of our most distinguished members of the University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty for many years and holds the unique distinction of twice winning America's most prestigious scientific award — the Albert Lasker Award in Medicine."

Dr. Gallo's legendary scientific career spans six decades. His major impact on scientific discovery began in the 1970s when he characterized all 61 types of the transfer RNAs in animal cells, which are used as essential adaptors when genetic messages are converted into proteins. Then, with a coworker, he described in human cells the enzyme that makes copies of DNA, known as DNA polymerase. In 1976, he identified the first cytokine, which is a chemical messenger that activates the immune system. This cytokine, Interleukin-2, first allowed researchers to grow T-cells in the laboratory and later was used to develop cancer immunotherapy.

"Bob Gallo has had an unparalleled impact on our understanding of the inner workings of infectious agents that afflict humans. The breadth and importance of his discoveries are astounding. There have been tremendous advances in the war on HIV/AIDS and without Bob’s contributions, we would not be where we are today," said Mario Stevenson, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Director of the Institute of AIDS at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Chair of IHV’s Scientific Advisory Board. "His vast impact on our scientific understanding cannot be understated."

In 1980, Dr. Gallo and colleagues discovered the first retrovirus, Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus-1 (HTLV-1) also the first virus shown to directly cause cancer without co-factors. Two years later, he identified a second retrovirus HTLV-2. These initial retroviral discoveries paved the way for identifying HIV. In 1986, he discovered the first new human herpes virus in more than 25 years, HHV-6, which causes roseola infantum, a fever and rash in infants, and possibly involved in some dementia.

In 1985, Dr. Gallo and his team developed the first HIV blood test, which has been updated by him and other over the years, allowing patient diagnoses and screening of blood used for transfusions. Dr. Gallo and his colleagues were important participants in an NCI-led project with the Burroughs Wellcome Fund developing the antiretroviral drug AZT as the first AIDS therapy.

In the early 2000s, Dr. Gallo and his colleagues at IHV developed an HIV vaccine candidate that has now progressed to a Phase Ib clinical trial in Thailand, a true example of IHV’s bench-to-bedside mission.

Most recently with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Gallo along with colleagues, including Dr. Kottilil authored two studies that suggested that the oral polio vaccine made from a live, weakened virus may protect people from SARS-CoV-2. These findings suggest that these types of vaccines could be used in a pinch to protect from future pandemics by amping up the body’s first-response innate immune system.

Dr. Gallo received his BA Degree in Biology from Providence College and his MD Degree from Jefferson Medical College. After conducting his Clinical Clerkship at Yale University School of Medicine, he completed his residency at the University of Chicago.

Through his research legacy, Dr. Gallo has published more than 1,300 scientific papers and a book "Virus Hunting - AIDS, Cancer & the Human Retrovirus: A Story of Scientific Discovery," which has been published in 12 languages. Dr. Gallo was the most cited scientist in the world from 1980-1990 and was ranked third in the world for scientific impact during 1983-2002.

In 1996, Science magazine named his team’s work Breakthrough of the Year for demonstrating that certain cytokines could inactivate the HIV virus. He holds 35 honorary doctorate degrees. A sampling of his most prestigious international awards includes Canada’s Gairdner Foundation International Award; The Japan Prize of Science and Technology; Germany’s Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize; India’s Birla Prize; France’s Griffuel Prize; Spain’s Prince Asturias Award; Israel’s Dan David Award, the first Otto Herz Cancer Prize, and the Rabbi Shacknai Immunology Prize; Italy’s Premio International Award, International Science Prize, the Magna Graecia International Prize, and Tevere Roma International Award; China’s highest award, the VCANBIO Award for International Cooperation Life Sciences and Medicine; and the World Health Award from former Soviet Union President Gorbachev. 

Dr. Gallo continues his investigation on the viral origins of some human cancers along with revealing more details on how HIV causes disease, focusing on one-day reaching a functional cure in which patients no longer need lifelong therapy.

His legacy will be celebrated at the 25^th IHV Anniversary Celebration Gala & Symposium on September 28-29, 2023, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore, MD.

About the Institute of Human Virology

Formed in 1996 as a partnership between the State of Maryland, the City of Baltimore, the University System of Maryland, and the University of Maryland Medical System, the IHV is an institute of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and is home to some of the most globally-recognized and world-renowned experts in all of virology. The IHV combines the disciplines of basic research, epidemiology, and clinical research in a concerted effort to speed the discovery of diagnostics and therapeutics for a wide variety of chronic and deadly viral and immune disorders, most notably HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. For more information, visit ihv.org and follow us on Twitter @IHVmaryland.

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world — with 46 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs, and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of more than $1.3 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic, and clinically based care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has nearly $600 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 students, trainees, residents, and fellows. The combined School of Medicine and Medical System (“University of Maryland Medicine”) has an annual budget of over $6 billion and an economic impact of nearly $20 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity (according to the Association of American Medical Colleges profile) is an innovator in translational medicine, with 606 active patents and 52 start-up companies. In the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of the Best Medical Schools, published in 2021, the UM School of Medicine is ranked #9 among the 92 public medical schools in the U.S., and in the top 15 percent (#27) of all 192 public and private U.S. medical schools. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu