Robert Gallo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Robert Gallo
Gallo in 1980
Born	Robert Charles Gallo (1937-03-23) March 23, 1937 (age 88) Waterbury, Connecticut, United States
Education	Providence College (BS) Thomas Jefferson University (MD)
Years active	1963–present
Known for	Co-discoverer of HIV
Medical career
Profession	Medical doctor
Institutions	National Cancer Institute
Sub-specialties	Infectious disease and virology
Research	Biomedical research
Awards	Lasker Award (1982, 1986) Charles S. Mott Prize (1984) Dickson Prize (1985) Japan Prize (1988) Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize (1999) Dan David Prize (2009)

Robert Charles Gallo (/ˈɡɑːloʊ/; born March 23, 1937) is an American scientist who studies medicine and biology. He is famous for his important work in finding out that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). He also helped create the blood test for HIV. Dr. Gallo has continued to contribute a lot to HIV research since then.

He is the director and co-founder of the Institute of Human Virology (IHV). This institute is part of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. It was started in 1996. In 2011, Dr. Gallo became the first Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine. He also helped start a company called Profectus BioSciences, Inc. He is also a co-founder and science director of the Global Virus Network (GVN).

From 1980 to 1990, Dr. Gallo was the most often cited scientist in the world. This means his work was mentioned by other scientists more than anyone else's. He has written over 1,300 scientific papers.

Early Life and Education

Robert Gallo was born in Waterbury, Connecticut. His family was working class and had Italian roots. In 1959, he earned a science degree in Biology from Providence College. He then received his medical degree (MD) from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1963.

After finishing his medical training, he became a researcher. He worked at the National Cancer Institute for 30 years. He was mainly in charge of the Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology. Dr. Gallo says his choice to become a doctor was influenced by his sister. She died young from leukemia, a type of cancer. He first focused much of his research on this disease.

Career Highlights

Discovering Human Retroviruses

Dr. Gallo became very interested in studying retroviruses. These are special viruses that use RNA instead of DNA. He made this the main focus of his lab. In 1976, a researcher in his lab, Doris Morgan, found something important. She successfully grew T lymphocytes, which are a type of immune cell.

Dr. Gallo's team identified a special growth factor that helped T-cells grow. They called it T-cell growth factor (TCGF). Later, its name was changed to IL-2. This discovery was a big deal. It allowed scientists to grow T cells in the lab for the first time. This opened up new ways to study how T cells work.

This breakthrough also helped researchers study viruses that affect T-cells. One such virus was the human T-cell leukemia virus, or HTLV. This was the first retrovirus found in humans. Dr. Gallo's lab played a key role in isolating it. Later, Japanese researchers also found the same virus. Both groups showed that HTLV caused a rare form of leukemia. In 1982, Dr. Gallo received the Lasker Award for his work on this.

HIV/AIDS Research Breakthroughs

On May 4, 1984, Dr. Gallo and his team published four important papers. They showed that a retrovirus they had found caused AIDS. They called this virus HTLV-III. A French team, led by Luc Montagnier, had published a paper in 1983. They described a retrovirus they called LAV.

In 1986, Dr. Gallo received his second Lasker Award. This was for showing that the retrovirus, now known as HIV-1, causes AIDS. He is the only person to receive two Lasker Awards.

In 1991, there was a disagreement about who discovered the AIDS virus first. Dr. Gallo admitted that the virus he had worked with in 1984 came from the French team. This resolved a long-standing dispute. In 1994, an agreement was made. It stated that both Montagnier and Gallo were co-discoverers of HIV.

In 1995, Dr. Gallo and his colleagues made another important discovery. They found that natural compounds called chemokines can stop HIV. This was a major scientific breakthrough. It changed how scientists understood AIDS. It also led to new medicines to treat HIV.

Dr. Gallo and his colleagues founded the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) in 1996. His team at the institute continues to do scientific research. They also provide care for people with HIV/AIDS. They treat thousands of patients in Baltimore. They also help half a million patients in Africa and the Caribbean. In 2007 and 2011, Dr. Gallo and his team received large grants. These grants were for research into a vaccine to prevent HIV/AIDS.

Who Discovered HIV First?

The question of who discovered HIV first has been a topic of discussion. Montagnier's group in France isolated HIV about a year and a half before Gallo's group. However, Gallo's group showed that the virus actually causes AIDS. They also developed important techniques, like growing T cells in the lab, which made the discovery possible.

In 2002, Dr. Gallo and Dr. Montagnier published articles together. They recognized the important roles each had played in discovering HIV.

In 2008, Montagnier and his colleague Françoise Barré-Sinoussi received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. This was for their work on discovering HIV. Dr. Gallo was not included. He said it was "a disappointment." Montagnier also said he was "surprised" Dr. Gallo was not recognized. He said, "It was important to prove that HIV was the cause of AIDS, and Gallo had a very important role in that."

Organizations and Networks

In 2005, Dr. Gallo co-founded Profectus BioSciences, Inc. This company works on developing ways to reduce illnesses and deaths caused by human viral diseases, including HIV.

In 2011, Dr. Gallo also founded the Global Virus Network (GVN). He started it with William Hall and Reinhard Kurth. The GVN aims to help virus scientists work together more. It also wants to train more virologists. The network helps fill gaps in research, especially when new viral outbreaks happen.

See also

In Spanish: Robert Gallo para niños