Zika Task Force

Chair: Scott Weaver, MS, PhD

Galveston National Laboratory
University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA

Zika FAQ

Task Force Biographies

Terms of Reference (TOR) – Global Virus Network Zika Task Force

• The Zika Task Force is composed of members of any of the GVN Centers of Excellence, its affiliates and top global experts who have relevant research and development expertise that could be harnessed to respond to the current Zika epidemic.
• One member will serve as Chairperson. Membership in the Task Force is voluntary.
• The Zika task force is the main responsible for advising the GVN, including its Centers of Excellence, in all aspects related to the GVN response to the Zika epidemic.
• With support from the GVN secretariat, the Task Force will communicate with all CoE to identify opportunities for collaboration.
• With support from the Secretariat, the Task Force will establish strategic alliances with other relevant organizations involved in the response to the Zika epidemic.
• The Task Force will convene conference calls and, if appropriate, meetings to discuss practical GVN actions in response to the epidemic.
• With support from the GVN Secretariat, the The Task Force will serve as GVN spokespersons, and will communicate with the media as such.
• As possible and appropriate, members of the Task Force should be available to advise, on behalf of the GVN, countries on activities related to the response to the epidemic.
• While serving in the GVN Task Force, members are encouraged to act on behalf of the GVN in addition to their own professional affiliation.
• Membership of the Task Force is for one year, extendable if appropriate.

GVN Zika Serum Bank

The Global Virus Network is an independent, non-profit organization that was founded in 2011 in Washington, D.C. Today, the GVN is comprised of 38 Centers and 6 Affiliates in 24 nations. The GVN vision is: “A world prepared to prevent, contain and control viral epidemic threats, through the collaboration of a global network of expert virus laboratories.” That vision is approached by: (1) Establishing a global network of expert virology laboratories; (2) Promoting the development of new tools, including diagnostics, antiviral drugs and vaccines; (3) Training the next generation of virologists; and, (4) Advocating for a more comprehensive and inclusive response to viral threats worldwide.

To assist with the development of diagnostics and vaccines and to better understand the humoral immune response to Zika virus infection, the GVN, thanks to a generous gift from Allergan, has established a patient serum bank. The donated sera or plasma, provided without patient identification, will be distributed to interested scientists through the World Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses (WRCEVA) at UTMB. The GVN Zika Serum Bank has both acute, PCR-positive and convalescent, antibody-positive sera.

If you wish to request samples, please fill in the request form. Requests will be reviewed to determine the best use of these limited Zika-positive human serum/plasma samples.

Resources

• GVN Zika Task Force Chair Scott Weaver, PhD at GVN Center of Excellence University of Texas Medical Branch’s Institute for Human Infections and Immunity and Galveston National Laboratory
• GVN Center of Excellence, J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), Virus Pathogen Resource (ViPR)
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Zika Virus
• U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) on Zika Virus
• WHO ZIKA Fact Sheet
• World Community Grid
• Zika Preparedness and Response: A Public Health and Legal Perspective, America Public Health Association
• USAID Announces $30 Million Grand Challenge To Combat Zika And Future Disease Threats

Media on GVN Zika Task Force

• STAT, Febuary 22,2016:Raised on science and family legend, he saw the Zika crisis coming
• The Baltimore Sun: Editorial, February 18, 2018: Another nightmare Germ
• The Baltimore Sun, February 16, 2016: “Baltimore consortium forms global task force to study Zika, find vaccine”
• WJZ, CBS Baltimore, February 16, 2016: “Md. Scientist Creates Task Force To Find Vaccine For Zika Virus”

Task Force Members

• Sazaly Bin Abu Bakar, PhD, Msc, Bsc
  University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• Michael Diamond, MD, PhD
  Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
• Jose Esparza
  Institute of Human Virology, Baltimore, USA
• Susan J. Fisher, PhD
  UCSF School of Medicine
• Robert Gallo
  Institute of Human Virology, Baltimore, USA
• Antoine Gessain, MD, PhD       
  Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
• Xavier Abad Morejón de Girón, PhD
  Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal, Catalonia, Spain
• Diane Griffin, MD, PhD
  Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
• Andrew Haddow, PhD
  United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease, MD, USA
• Giuseppe Ippolito, MD
  National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani, Rome, Italy
• Esper Kallas, MD, PhD
  University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
• Alexander Khromykh, PhD
  University of Queensland, Australia
• Albert Ko, MD
  Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
• Alain Kohl, PhD
  MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, Scotland
• Marc Lecuit, MD, PhD
  Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
• Eric Leroy, PhD
  Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Montpellier, France
• Julius Lutwama, PhD
  Makerere University, Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda
• John Mackenzie, AO, PhD, FTSE, FASM, FACTM
  Curtin University, Perth, Australia
• Núria Busquets Martí, PhD
  Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal, Catalonia, Spain

• Gene D. Morse, PharmD
  University at Buffalo HIV and HCV Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory
• Kenneth Olson
  College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University
• Jorge Osorio, PhD  
  University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
  University of Antioquia Medical School and Fundacion Antioqueña de Infectologia, Medellin, Colombia 
• Janusz T. Paweska, PhD
  NHLS Johannesburg National Institute for Communicable Diseases
• Giovanni Rezza, MD
  Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
• Amadou Sall, PhD
  Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Dakar, Senegal
• Raymond Schinazi, PhD, Hon DSc
  Emory School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
• Cameron Simmons, PhD
  The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne,Australia
• Ed Tramont, MD
  National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
• Maria Van Kerkhove, PhD
  Institut Pasteur
• Nikos Vasilakis, PhD
  University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
• David Watkins, PhD
  University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
• Stephen Whitehead, PhD
  National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases