GVN Bestows Diane Griffin with The GVN Robert C. Gallo Award for Scientific Excellence and Leadership

Dr. Griffin was presented the Award during the 9th International Meeting in Melbourne last September

Baltimore, MD, USA, February 1, 2018:  The Global Virus Network (GVN), an international coalition of the world’s foremost medical virologists, comprising 40 Centers of Excellence in 25 countries, dedicated to identifying and researching, combatting and preventing, current and emerging pandemic viruses that pose a critical threat to public health and well-being, presented The GVN Robert C. Gallo Award for Scientific Excellence and Leadership to Diane Griffin, MD, PhD, Professor, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The Award was bestowed during GVN’s 9th International Meeting in Melbourne, Australia held last September in partnership with the Peter Doherty Institute and the Institut Pasteur.  Dr. Griffin was honored for her work on the pathogenesis of viral infections, particularly related to measles and alphavirus encephalomyelitis, as well as her contributions to advancing the GVN mission.  She is vice-president of the National Academy of Sciences.
Said William Hall, MD, PhD, Co-founder of the GVN and Professor of Microbiology at the University College Dublin, who presented the Award, “Dr. Griffin deserves GVN’s top award as her studies have contributed greatly to the field, and she has supported GVN since its inception in 2011.  Her essential research encompasses the mechanisms of how viruses infect humans and how we respond to those viruses.  Dr. Griffin’s work has uncovered how viruses impact the nervous system and the immune system, as well as long-term virus infection and its effect on human health. “
“It is an honor to be recognized by my colleagues in the Global Virus Network,” said Dr. Griffin. “The meeting in Melbourne facilitated terrific, stimulating discussions, and I look forward to continuing my work with the GVN and my colleagues to help solve mankind’s viral challenges.”
“Dr. Griffin is not only a tremendous scientist but an active leader in the GVN,” said Dr. Hall. “We are pleased to recognize her phenomenal career in medical virology and her invaluable contributions to the GVN.”
The Award is named after GVN Co-Founder and International Scientific Advisor Robert Gallo, MD, who is most widely known for his co-discovery of HIV as the cause of AIDS and the development of the HIV blood test.  Dr. Gallo is also The Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, Co-Founder, and Director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, a GVN Center of Excellence.  Past awardees include Ab Osterhaus, DVM, PhD, Director of the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, a GVN Center of Excellence, in October 2016 and Scott Weaver, MS, PhD, Chair of GVN’s Chikungunya and Zika Task Forces, Director of the University of Texas Medical Branch’s Institute for Human Infections and Immunity, and Scientific Director of the Galveston National Laboratory, a GVN Center of Excellence, in May 2016.