As the largest outbreak of Ebola in history — still ongoing in West Africa with nearly 16,000 cases and more than 5,000 deaths as of the end of November — captivated the world’s attention and brought questions of viral preparedness to the forefront of international discourse, GVN has taken a leadership role as an authoritative source of information, an advocate for medical virology research, and a bridge to facilitate collaborations between top researchers.

Specifically, GVN has focused its efforts around four key areas:

n Authoritative Information – GVN has served as a key source of information about Ebola Virus Disease, linking the world’s leading virus researchers with journalists, business leaders, policy makers, and the general public. GVN organized webinars with top Ebola experts for journalists and business leaders, provided background and interviews for reporters, and published a series of articles on its website and other forums answering pressing questions.

n Expert Opinions – GVN scientists provided straight talk and mea-sured opinions about when Ebola candidate vaccines and therapeutics might be widely available, and what obstacles need to be surmounted in order to do so. One key challenge for the future is to ensure that all nations have sufficient scientific expertise in order to identify and address future outbreaks at the local level, and in partnership with health agencies and scientific colleagues globally.

n Advocacy – GVN called for additional financial resources to expand medical virology worldwide. This included training of tomorrow’s medical virology leaders as part of a stronger global safety net against emerging viral threats.

n Research – GVN is working to help Ebola researchers in the net-work to identify and access funds to support teams, travel, small

GVN BUSINESS LEADERSHIP COUNCIL FOUNDERS MEETING NOVEMBER 19, 2014On November 19, 2014, GVN officially launched its Business Leadership Council at the first meeting of the group’s founding members in Baltimore, Maryland. The Business Leadership Council (BLC) is a unique new program that links the private sector with the world’s leading virus researchers, creating a plat-form for information exchange and partnerships to strengthen international viral preparedness and response. In addition to being an innovative approach to private sector engagement that will be mutually beneficial to both member companies and GVN, the program also

furthers GVN’s mission of strengthening research and response to viral causes of human disease. BLC founding members include FedEx, PhRMA, global technology compa-

nies UST Global and CTIS, and biotech firms PathSensors, CTD Holdings, and Profectus Biosciences.

ews Fall/Winter 2014Volume 4, Issue 2

GVN Responds to Ebola Crisis, Prepares for Future

The Ebola Virus

continued on p.2

continued on p.4

BLC Co-Chair Bipin Thomas from UST Global addresses the BLC Launch Reception

Dr. Jeffrey Tate of CTD Holdings, Dr. Andrew Flannery from PathSensors, Dr. Gallo, and Hope Williams, Special Assistant to Congressman Elijah Cummings at the reception

2 GVN VIRIONews

grants, and equipment. Much work remains to be done by Ebola scientists to expand understanding of host-virus interactions and development and testing of vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics.

GVN researchers working on Ebola include:

n Stephan Becker, Ph.D., Institute for Virology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany

Dr. Becker’s laboratory research is focused on understand-ing how the Ebola virus replicates, assembles in infected cells, and causes severe,often fatal, bleeding and hemor-rhagic fever in humans.

n Janusz Paweska, DVM, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg, South Africa

Dr. Paweska leads the emerging and zoonotic diseases unit at NICD and his research focuses on the diagnostics of highly pathogenic diseases such as Ebola and Marburg as well as the origins and spread of the Ebola virus through its suspected vector, bats.

n Erica Ollmann Saphire, Ph.D., The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA

The Saphire lab works to understand the structural biol­ogy of hemorrhagic fever viruses like Ebola in an effort to map out how these viruses attach and replicate within the human body to further the development of anti­viral treatments and vac cines.

n Thomas W Geisbert, Ph.D., University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), Galveston, Texas, USA

The Geisbert lab focuses on three areas: a man-made antibody treatment; a promising Canadian drug from Tekmira Pharmaceuticals shown to protect monkeys from Ebola; and a vaccine that can be used both to prevent infection and also to treat it.

n Alan Schmaljohn, Ph.D., Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Affiliate Member, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

In early stages of Ebola vaccine development, Dr. Schmaljohn led efforts that identified the viral compo-nents necessary and sufficient for inclusion in modern filovirus vaccines, with findings published in a series of papers beginning in 1997.

n Alexander Bukreyev, Ph.D., UTMB-Galveston National Labs, Galveston, Texas, USA

Dr. Bukreyev’s group focuses on development of vaccines, antibody treatments and small molecule treatments against Ebola and Marburg and on investigation of the mechanisms of their high pathogenicity.

GVN President’s Pen

From the

Dear GVN Friends and Colleagues,

The past year has shown why the Global Virus Network— a scientist-driven, global coalition of virologists—is so important. The havoc and suffering caused by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and Chikungunya epidemic in the Americas are prime examples. GVN researchers are racing to develop drugs and vaccines to treat and pre-vent infection to give public health officials vital tools to control these viruses’ spread. In this issue, we discuss how GVN is connecting scientists from around the globe to share research, lessons learned and create clini-cal networks to expedite drug and vaccine development. GVN has also worked to provide authoritative informa-tion to a variety of audiences objectively and with no political overlay. We are proud of our contributions so far and for what we plan to do over the coming months.

Ebola and Chikungunya are just two viruses on our radar screen; GVN’s network of global experts covers all human viral disease. We work in partnership with many, including governments, WHO, private companies and foundations. In this issue, we report on the launch of the GVN Business Leadership Council, an exciting new program to engage companies concerned about pan-demic preparedness for the health and safety of their workforces, supply chains, and communities.

Our all-hands-on-deck approach to tackling viruses is more critical than ever. You play a vital role in helping GVN develop and implement life-saving initiatives against Ebola and other diseases, train tomorrow’s virology leaders, and fulfil our mission. In this season of giving, consider how you can support the Global Virus Network. It is everyone’s obligation to stop the spread of viral disease. Join us! Visit gvn.org to learn more. Thank you for your support. We wish you a healthy and happy 2015!

Sincerely,

Sharon H. Hrynkow, Ph.D. Dr. Sharon Hrynkow, President, GVN

shrynkow@gvn.org

GVN Responds to Ebola Crisisfrom p.1

3GVN VIRIONews

SECOND SCANDINAVIAN-BALTIC MEETING PLANNED: JUNE 2015HIV, enteroviruses and Chikungunya — these are some of the topics to be discussed at the 2nd GVN Scandinavian-Baltic Conference on Emerging Viral Threats June 8-10, 2015. This meeting will build on the success of the inaugural meeting last year in Estonia, which brought together researchers from Ukraine and a number of Baltic and Scandinavian countries for several days of scientific

presentations and spirited discussions on viral threats in the region. That confer-ence, which was supported by a grant from the European Union to the University of Tartu, was a great success and strengthening ties between virology research centers in the region.

The June 2015 meeting, organized in cooperation with the GVN Center of Excellence at the Karolinska Institute, will take place at the Djurönäset Conference Center, 45 km east of Stockholm, Sweden. Organizers expect approxi-mately 100 participants from Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and the US. The program, funding and logistics are still being finalized. The conference will provide a unique opportunity for senior virology leaders to exchange information and ideas, and for junior researchers to interact with and learn from some of the world’s most preeminent virologists. Stay tuned for a full report in late June.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Over the years, GVN’s Ebola experts have been contributing to the development of vac-cines, therapeutics, and diagnostics — all of which were recently bol-stered due to the world’s newest and deadliest Ebola outbreak.  While the science has been progressing steadily — only seemingly stymied by lack of funds — it is unfortunate that pharmaceutical companies did not step-up to the plate sooner and pour more funds into “seeing the science through” resulting in an effec-tive vaccine. While Ebola does not present a signifi-cant scientific challenge — development of a vaccine to this virus is straightforward from a scientific stand-point — it does highlight the problem of poor public health infrastructure  and limited financial resources to address viral threats as they emerge. 

Our focus on Ebola should be first to shore up sup-port for public health responses — case detection, stemming the spread of cases, and caring for infected individuals.  But as Ebola has killed more than 5,000, it is important to bear in mind that there are many real, unsolved scientific challenges costing the lives of millions of people each year. We must not neglect these scientifically challenging viral threats.  One of these is HIV.  The development of an effective preventive HIV vaccine has proven to be one of the most vexing challenges faced by the scientific community.

The GVN fosters “outside the box” thinking and research, the very kind needed to advance science to address HIV and other global challenges. We hope you will support the GVN so that researchers around the globe are no longer stymied by lack of resources, both financially and creatively.

Sincerely,

Robert C. Gallo, M.D.

Robert C. Gallo, MD, GVN Scientific Director

Scientific DirectorFrom the GVN

GVN Regional Meeting in Estonia Builds Research Ties, PartnershipsThe first Scandinavian-Baltic meeting in June 2014 succeeded in developing connections among researchers in the region. Joint activi-ties in HIV studies, like bio-banking, are planned between Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian teams. The conference also boosted training programs and interna-tional exchanges in the region. There has been a great deal of activity and interest among junior Ukrainian researchers in receiving virology train-ing in Estonia and there are already 3 visiting sci-entists in Tallinn and Tartu for 2-3 month peri-ods. Estonia expects 2-3 additional visitors from Ukraine in the first half of 2015 and possibilities for other Ukrainian exchanges throughout Scandinavia are being explored.

4 GVN VIRIONews

BLC co-chairs Bipin Thomas of UST Global and Timothy Moynahan, Esq., also Chairman of GVN’s Board of Directors, led the meeting’s discus-sion to consider the BLC’s structure

and key pro-grammatic activi-ties. The BLC founding mem-bers were also joined by GVN virologists Dr. Konstantin Chumakov of the US Food and Drug Administration and Dr. Matthew

Frieman, an affiliate member of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine for an engag-ing discussion on a number of ongoing viral outbreaks including Chikungunya in the Americas, Ebola in West Africa, Enterovirus D68, MERS, and SARS. This dis-cussion brought into sharp contrast the value of the BLC as a forum for business leaders to discuss epidemic threats with top virus researchers, address questions spe-cific to the business community, share best practices in workforce pro-tection, and shine light on the role of the private sector in promoting evi-dence-based approaches to outbreak

preparedness and response.

GVN President, Dr. Sharon Hrynkow, framed the discussion with a broad overview of GVN, noting the criti-

cal role of the business com-munity in advanc-ing global health. The Business Leadership Coun-cil’s value lies in GVN’s ability to link the BLC members to the world’s top virologists; provide information and analysis about viral preparedness tailored to its members’ specific needs, questions, and concerns; and do so in formats that are useful and actionable. To this end, BLC founding members discussed a number of programmatic activities including monthly assess-ments of key viral threats, a webinar series with top GVN virologists, and development of a curriculum on pri-

vate sector approaches to viral prepared-ness the BLC could offer at major business conferences. The founding members also discussed approaches to raise awareness about the BLC

program and engage new businesses in order to grow the group’s member-ship across industries and sectors.

At the conclusion of the meeting, GVN co-hosted a reception at the Baltimore World Trade Center with the World Trade Center Institute and local business leaders to celebrate the BLC’s launch. GVN Co-founder and Scientific Director Dr. Robert Gallo reflected on the need for a global safety net against viral disease that inspired him and “co­founders, the late Dr. Reinhard Kurth (Germany) and Dr. William Hall (Ireland) to estab­

lish GVN and how the private sector plays a key role in this safety net. University of Maryland, Baltimore President Dr. Jay Perman also addressed the group, emphasizing GVN’s critical role in global health and pledging his support for the BLC. Representatives from the offices of Congressman Elijah Cummings and the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development also attended the reception and pledged their help to grow the program.

Over the coming months, the BLC will continue to build off the momentum generated by its successful launch under the leadership of the BLC co-chairs and BLC Project Director Collin Weinberger, who can be reached at cweinberger@gvn.org. The program will be rapidly rolling out new com-ponents and expanding its member-ship as it continues to develop and promote private sector engagement around viral epidemic preparedness and response.

GVN Business Leadership Council from p.1

GlobalUST ®

BLC fouNdiNG MEMBERs

GVN President Dr. Sharon Hrynkow opens BLC reception

Nina Lamba (right) from the Maryland Dept of Business and Economic Development talks with Dr. Andrew Flannery and Dr. Jeanette Simpson from PathSensors at the reception

Dr. Gallo with University of Maryland, Baltimore President Dr. Jay Perman at the BLC Launch Reception

Dr. Konstantin Chumakov of the FDA at the reception

BLC Co-Chair and Chairman

of the GVN Board Timothy

Moynahan

5GVN VIRIONews

GVN TOP VIROLOGISTS TO MEET IN CHINABeijing, China – May 16-19, 2015

The 2015 GVN closed meeting will bring together the world’s top medical virologists, Directors of GVN Centers of Excellence, and GVN staff for two and one half days of ses-sions to discuss emerging viral threats, ongoing research programs, and opportunities to build ties across the GVN. This annual meeting also affords an opportunity for the GVN team to discuss operational progress and needs.

For the first time, GVN is opening up several ses-sions of its meet-ing to hear from founding mem-bers of the newly launched GVN Business Leadership Council. The goal is to create syner-gies that might lead to advance-ment of drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for critical viral threats.

The meeting is being hosted by Dr. Yi Zeng of the China CDC, working in close partnership with a range of Chinese institu-tions comprising the China GVN. Scientific sessions will be held at the Beijing University of Technology, which will be celebrating its 55th year.

The 4-star Grand Gongda Jianguo Hotel, adjacent to the University, will host delegates.

Members of the Scientific Organizing Committee include co-chairs Yi Zeng and Robert Gallo, as well as Xiaoping Dong, Mengfeng Li, Qi Jin, Yiming Shao, Hong Shang , Xiaoming Yang, Weizhong Yang, Anders Vahlne, Billy Hall, Reinhard Burger, Giorgio Palù, Umberto Bertazzoni, John Fazakerley, and Sharon Hrynkow.

For additional information on the meeting, please contact Robert Karrs at rkarrs@gvn.org.

GVN Calls for Virology funding, identifies Research Priorities in Testimony to us senate

Speaking as a voice for the medical virology research community, GVN submitted written testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations November 12, 2014 hearing, “U.S. Government Response: Fighting Ebola and Protecting America.” GVN provided an action plan on strengthening global preparedness against viral threats to human health.

The testimony was co-authored by leading Ebola experts and GVN leadership, including GVN Co-Founder and Scientific Director Dr. Robert C. Gallo, GVN Senior Advisor Dr. Stanley Plotkin from the University of Pennsylvania; Center of Excellence Director and GVN Scientific Leadership Board member Dr. Diane Griffin from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Center of Excellence Co-Director Dr. Erica Ollmann Saphire from The Scripps Research Institute; Affiliate Member Dr. Alan L. Schmaljohn from the IHV at the University of Maryland School of Medicine; Chairman of the GVN Board Timothy C. Moynahan; and GVN President Dr. Sharon H. Hrynkow.

The testimony called for:

n Expanded resources for basic research in order to answer key questions about the Ebola virus such as the precise point after infection that marks when a person can transmit the virus, the survivability of the virus out­side of the body, and the hallmarks of an effective immune response.

n Development of rapid diagnostic tests to identify Ebola infections earlier in the course of disease and dif-ferentiate it from diseases that present with similar symptoms. To accomplish this, GVN recommended expanded support for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), as a critical means to accelerate the development and deployment of these diagnostics.

n Building on past successes by expanding access to data from U.S. Government funded research on Ebola and other pandemic threats.

n Better risk communication to reduce panic, mini-mize confusion, and better educate the public on how to protect themselves from disease.

n Expanded training opportunities for medical virol-ogists and health professionals working to support medi-cal virology research in low- and mid-income nations.

Grand Gongda Jianguo Hotel (top) and the Beijing University of Technology

Medical Research and Policy; The Difficulty in Developing an HIV Vaccine; and, among other topics, the origins and need for the Global Virus Network (GVN).

During his time in India, Dr. Gallo dominated the media, who were interested in his thoughts on Ebola. Dr. Gallo said, “The science of Ebola is not difficult and at present, there are at least 12 vaccines against Ebola, of which three or four are extremely promising. All it needs is more money and infrastructure for research.” He reminded his audiences that HIV proved a far greater scientific chal-lenge, killing 1.5 million people each year, and that there remains an urgent need to develop an HIV preventive vaccine for the world.

Dr. Gallo also met with top government officials, including Kerala’s Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who presented Dr. Gallo IMA’s Medicine Millennium International Award during the IMA Conference. In a private meeting with Drs.

Gallo and Pillai, Mr. Chandy was optimistic about forg-ing public-private partner-ships in India to strengthen India’s medical virology programs as well as to ignite a greater, leading role in the GVN.

Kerala is a region rich with an impressive number of medical educational insti-tutions which can – and

should –take a global lead in the fight against viral epidemics. Second only to China in the world in its growing population of 1.2 billion people, India eagerly supports GVN and recognizes the country’s vulnerabilities to viral outbreaks. The GVN looks forward to strengthening its ties with India’s top

medical virologists and positioning the country to take a global, leading role in furthering GVN’s mis-sion.

Dr. Gallo Travels to India and Strengthens GVN Ties

In November, GVN Co-Founder and Scientific Director Dr. Robert Gallo was invited by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to participate in its 57th state conference of IMA Kerala in Trivandrum. The conference focused on the recent Ebola outbreak with a goal of develop-ing training and awareness programs for IMA Members to tackle outbreaks of various viral diseases. The IMA program is envisaged to help medical fraternity in the state, to stay updated on the emerging and re-emerging viral diseases, and to equip health officials to face emergencies. Following the IMA conference, Dr. Gallo traveled to Kochi, where he gave a presentation at Aster Medcity’s conference on “New Horizons in Cancer Care.” Aster Medcity, led by Dr. Azad Moopen, is one of South Asia’s most advanced quaternary care medical centers and was founded to explore newer horizons and improving cancer management and care in India. Dr. Gallo was accompanied throughout the trip by Dr. M.V. Pillai, who is Senior Medical Oncologist at Thomas Jefferson University and advises major medical organizations and the govern-ment in India. Both Dr. Moopen and Dr. Pillai are expected to play major roles in GVN going forward.

Over the course of a few days, Dr. Gallo presented five lec-tures on a variety of topics including, Viruses, Cancer, and Epidemics; HIV & AIDS: The Story of the Basic Science Advances and their Impact on

From top: Dr. Gallo with Dr. M.V. Pillai; Dr. Gallo receives the IMA Medicine Millennium International Award; An audience in Kerala listens to Dr. Gallo lecture; Dr. Robert Gallo with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram.— Photo: S. Mahinsha; Dr. Gallo meets India’s next generation of medical virologists

6 GVN VIRIONews

7GVN VIRIONews

Since 2004, the mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus has re-emerged and spread from Africa to Asia, and Europe. Millions of people have been afflicted with severe, debili-tating, and often chronic arthralgia (joint pain) due to the virus. In late 2013, Chikungunya emerged in the Americas for the first time and—facing an immunologically naive population and a thus far ineffective public health response—has since spread rapidly throughout the region. As of November 21, 2014, the Pan American Health Organi-zation has reported a total of 964,341 suspected or con-firmed cases in the Americas and Caribbean since the outbreak began. This total includes 914,960 suspected and 15,906 confirmed locally acquired cases, as well as 2,236 imported cases. The US reported 1,839 new imported Chikungunya cases. As of November 14, 2014, PAHO esti-mated the death toll from the virus to be 150 in the Americas.

GVN, through its Task Force on Chikungunya, sponsored a special session at the annual meeting of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) in New Orleans to take stock of lessons learned on Chikungunya from around the world. The symposium was co-sponsored by the American Committee on Arthropod-borne Diseases. The world’s leading Chikungunya experts, most of them affiliated with GVN, reviewed the evolution and status of the virus’ outbreaks, recent findings on clinical and molec-ular pathogenesis, diagnostics, vaccine and therapeutic development, and models of transmission and spread. GVN Task Force Co-Chairs Scott Weaver (UTMB), Marc Lecuit (Institut Pasteur), and John Fazakerley (Pirbright Institute, UK), along with Task Force Members Lisa Ng (Singapore Immunology Network) and Simon Cauchemez (Institut Pasteur) presented data during the symposium. Dr. Edward McSweegan, Coordinator of the Task Force on Chikungunya, opened the session, noting GVN’s emphasis on addressing Chikungunya by promoting public-private partnerships and building a global community of experts.

While much is known about the virus, Task Force Co-Chair Dr. Scott Weaver noted that Chikungunya had often escaped earlier detection by hiding under the umbrellas of dengue and malaria—two tropical diseases whose symptoms are easily confused with those of

Chikungunya. Much of that confusion can be blamed on a lack of good diagnostics. GVN researchers, CDC scien-tists, and commercial entities are working hard to develop new, rapid, point-of-care diagnostic assays.

Although the virus itself is rarely fatal, it appears to accel-erate death in people with underlying illnesses. For example, all 250 people who died during the 2005 out-break on Reunion Island near Madagascar had underlying diseases that made them especially vulnerable. GVN Task Force Co-Chair Marc Lecuit explained that despite the low mortality, Chikungunya infections as “highly incapacitat-ing,” usually resulting in serious, long-term pain and arthritis, or as Dr. Lecuit described it, “episodic relapses and recovery periods.” No one knows why this is so, but the consensus at the symposium was that more research is needed to better understand what the virus is doing in human joints, and how it progresses from acute to chronic illness.

In order to protect patients and better understand the virus’ capacity to cause disease, GVN Task Force members, including Lecuit and Matthew Frieman (affiliated with GVN Center of Excellence at the Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland) are screening FDA-approved drugs for anti-viral properties that might be effective against Chikungunya. Dr. Weaver also reported on the development of a potential vaccine, a live but genetically weakened Chikungunya virus that has been found to produce a protective immune response in early studies. He is working now to conduct a Phase I safety trial of this candidate vaccine.

The symposium also reported on the work of colleagues in France who are exploring the use of “passive immuno-therapy” on three islands in the Caribbean. They hope to use human antibodies purified from blood plasma taken from Chikungunya-convalescent donors to treat 40 neo-nates at high risk of a severe form of Chikungunya infec-tion. This is similar to what officials have tried with Ebola in the U.S. and West Africa, collecting plasma antibodies from recovered Ebola patients to boost the immune response of patients currently battling the disease.

GVN Chikungynya Experts: Left to right, Weaver, Fazakerley, Lecuit, Ng, Cauchemez

GVN LEADS GLOBAL ExPERT REVIEW ON CHIkUNGUNyA VIRUS SPREADNew Orleans, LA, USA, November 2014

8 GVN VIRIONews

Sixteen of tomorrow’s medical virology leaders represent-ing 11 nations, including Nigeria, Italy, Estonia, the United States, Japan, Cameroon, Uganda, Colombia and Germany, convened in Baltimore as part of the first GVN intensive Short Course in Medical Virology, July 2014. The course serves one of GVN’s core goals — to promote medical virology and to ensure that young investigators in the field receive first-class training and broad opportu-nities to engage with collaborators around the world.

The pilot took advantage of scientific expertise at two GVN Centers of Excellence in Baltimore, the Institute of Human Virology of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University, GVN Center Directors on the East Coast, leaders in Washington, D.C. and at the National Institutes of Health. . It was a who’s who in medical virology: Drs.

Robert Gallo, Diane Griffin, Peter Palese, Ab Osterhaus, Konstantin Chumakov, and Barry Beaty, to name just some of the twenty world-class lecturers and medical virology guides.

“We also took advantage of our prox-imity to Washington DC and to the National Institutes of Health to bolster this course,” said Dr. Sharon Hrynkow, GVN President. “To complement the intensive lectures on a range of viral threats, we also wanted to shed light on policymaking aspects on emerg-ing infectious diseases and on prior-ity setting at the world’s largest medical research agency,” she added.

The course participants met with officials at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Dr. Andrew Hebbeler and Mr. Kei Koizumi, and then with Dr. Roger Glass, Director at the NIH Fogarty International Center. They also met with Dr. Cathy Laughlin of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and other NIAID officials to hear international priorities and current funding opportunities.

In addition, two biotech-nology firms presented to the group to provide practical insights on commercializa-

tion of advances made in the laboratory. PathSensors, Inc. and Fyodor Biotechnologies

Global Virus Network Launches Short Course In Medical Virology

Ongoing collaborations were one of the primary benefits that organizers hoped would come from the course. PathSensors, Inc., a BioPark tenant and neighbor of GVN, gave a brief presentation on their patented technology which provides rapid, mobile bio-detection of dangerous pathogens.

G V N T H A N k S I T S S P O N S O R S F O R S U P P O R T O F T H E P I LOT CO U R S E:

I’m writing (this) to show you the immediate fruits of sharing ideas, knowledge and technology in the GVN course. I hope we’ll succeed to go further with the PathSensors technology, associating our ideas and clinical experience.”

—Dr. Roee Dvir

“

GVN Reinhard Kurth Scholars (L-R) Timothy Quinn Crawford, Ph.D., Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USALivia Schünadel, Ph.D., Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, GermanyJulian Ruiz Saenz, Ph.D., Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Bucaramanga, Colombia

9GVN VIRIONews

GVN Chikungunya Task Force Co-Chair receives Walter Reed MedalDr. Scott Weaver, Director at the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity and Scientific Director of the Galveston National Laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, is the 2014 recipient of the Walter Reed Medal. Dr. Weaver is an expert on arbovi-ruses, mosquitoes, and vaccines, and is one of the co-chairs of GVN Task Force on Chikungunya virus.

Chikungunya virus is a mosquito-borne virus that origi-nated in East Africa. In late 2013, the virus emerged in the eastern Caribbean and began hopping from island to island, and then into Central and South America. Tourists have carried the infection back to the U.S. As of October 31, 2014, local transmission of Chikungunya has been reported in 37 countries in the Caribbean, Central, South, and North America. A total of 964,341 cases have been reported in these areas since December 2013.

The Walter Reed Medal is pre-sented by the American Society for Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (ASTMH) every three years to recognize dis-tinguished accomplishments in the field of tropical medicine.

The first award was made to Mrs. Walter Reed and to the Rockefeller Foundation in 1936. In 1942 the award was made posthumously to Carlos J. Finlay—a Cuban colleague of Walter Reed—who is credited with the idea that yellow fever was transmitted by mosquitoes.

The Medal was presented to Dr. Weaver by Dr. David Walker, also at the University of Texas Medical Branch, on November 2, 2014 at the ASTMH Awards Ceremony.

Corp. offered information on intellectual property, financ-ing and other commercial aspects.

Among the sixteen participants were three GVN Reinhard Kurth Scholars, named in memory of GVN’s Co-Founder, Professor Reinhard Kurth, and supported through a spe-cial fund honoring Dr. Kurth’s memory. Dr. Robert Gallo, GVN’s Co- Founder and Scientific Director, said, “The potential of these Scholars to make advances in medical virology is clear. They are a fitting tribute to the memory of Dr. Kurth, whose passion for teaching and for training virologists needed to keep us safe in the future colored all that he did.”

The participants were uniformly positive and enthusiastic about the benefits of the course on their career progres-sion. One participant remarked that, “I have read books by these virologists. I have read their papers. And now, I have the chance to talk to them and for them to respond to my questions. It is almost overwhelming.”

Plans are already underway to convene a Second Short Course in Baltimore in July 2015 and to adapt the curricu-lum so that the course may be held in other nations. GVN has grant applications submitted to various agencies to support these efforts.

Since the conclusion of the course, Dr. Roee Dvir, one of the participants, has held a teleconference with PathSensors leadership and, along with some of his col-leagues at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, plan to visit Baltimore in January 2015.

(L) GVN Short Course participants after returning from a full day in Washington visiting the White House- OSTP and the NIH campus.

(R) Dr. Barry Beaty speaks with participants during the course review and wrap-up.

Dr. Robert Gallo shares memories of his career in medical virology with attendees in his office.

10 GVN VIRIONews

This global team, which also included colleagues from Hokkaido University in Japan and the University of Zambia, examined bats collected in Zambia and identified the novel nairovirus. When injected into mice, they found that the virus caused lethal disease similar to Crimean­Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, which causes hemorrhagic disease and death. The researchers named the new virus the Leopards Hill Virus (LPHV).

Dr. Hall and his collaborators are now working to under­stand how infection with this virus leads to hemorrhagic fever and death. Clues from this work may shed light on

how other hem­orrhagic fever viruses, including Ebola, damage cells and cause disease.

GVN Co-Founder and Center of Excellence Director Dr. William Hall Leads the Study

In a study just published in Nature Communications* GVN Co­Founder and GVN Center of Excellence Director at University College Dublin Dr. William Hall, MD, PhD and Associate Director of the GVN Center of Excellence at the Hokkaido University Research Center for Zoonosis Control Dr. Hirofumi Sawa, MD, PhD report on the identification of a new virus found in Zambian bats. The virus is a single­stranded RNA virus in the bunyavirus family: these viruses are normally transmitted to

humans and other animals by ticks. Unknown pathogens that circulate among wild animals often are sources of emerging infectious diseases in humans. In recent years bats have been shown to serve as important reservoirs of dangerous viruses including Marburg, Hendra, Nipah, rabies and possibly Ebola.

GVN RESEARCH ADVANCEGlobal Team Identifies Novel Virus that Causes Hemorrhagic Fever and Death in a Mouse Model

GVN Co-Founder Dr. William Hall

A Nairovirus, the Crimean Congo Hemoragic Fever Virus, similar to the recently discovered Leopards Hill Virus (LPHV)

December 9 Annual GVN Fundraising Event Café Milano, Washington, DC

December 2014 Launch of the GVN Post­Doctoral Fellowship Program

Beginning January 2015 GVN Monthly Business Leadership Council Webinars: Focus on Different Emerging Viral Threat every month

May 15-19, 2015 GVN annual meeting with Center Directors Beijing, China

June 2015 Emerging Viral Threats: What Business Leaders Should Know (inaugural conference held under the auspices of the GVN Business Leadership Council)

June 8 – 10, 2015 GVN 2nd regional meeting, Scandinavia and Baltics Stockholm, Sweden

July 2015 2nd Annual GVN Short Course for Emerging Baltimore, MD Leaders in Medical Virology, one week

July 2015 Donor Appreciation Event

UPCOMING GVN EVENTS & HAPPENINGS

*A nairovirus isolated from African bats causes haemorrhagic gastroenteritis and severe hepatic disease in mice. Akihiro Ishii1, Keisuke Ueno, Yasuko Orba, Michihito Sasaki, Ladslav Moonga, Bernard M. Hang’ombe, Aaron S. Mweene, Takashi Umemura, Kimihito Ito, William W. Hall & Hirofumi Sawa. 2 Dec 2014.

11GVN VIRIONews

at the Abu Dhabi Health Authority, Dr. Farida Ismail Al Hosany; SEHA; the Dubai Health Authority, led by H.E. Engineer Essa Al Haj Al Maidoor; and the Dubai Medical College for Girls. One issue of common interest across meetings was the Global Health Security Agenda, announced by President Obama in

September as a means to bring nations together to fight viral threats, including those that may be weaponized. The UAE participates in the Global Health Security Agenda, as does the United States and 14 of the 44 nations that participate in the Global Health Security Agenda are rep­resented in the Global Virus Network. GVN and public health leaders in Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are explor­ing collaborations on biosecurity and other priority themes within the Global Health Security Agenda.

At the invitation of the American Chamber of Commerce in Abu Dhabi, Dr. Hrynkow presented on GVN to 15 companies, several of which expressed interest in GVN’s Business Leadership Council. Additional meetings with Sheikh Ahmed Al Badi and with U.S. Ambassador to the UAE Michael Corbin provided context, insights, and new friends for GVN.

Forging Ties in the United Arab EmiratesGVN President Dr. Sharon Hrynkow visited the United Arab Emirates in October to explore potential collabora­tions with partners in the Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. She met with a range of academic leaders, public health officials and private sector partners. “If we look at where GVN has Centers of Excellence or Affiliates globally, there is a clear gap in the Arab world,” Hrynkow said. “This trip was to help identify UAE collaborators for GVN who would work with us on common goals and with a com­mon purpose, safeguarding people from viral threats,” she added.

The visit focused on the Emirate of Sharjah, where Dr. Hrynkow was honored to meet with Sheikh Saqer Al Qassimi and to have the opportunity to share infor­mation with him on the Global Virus Network. Sheikh Saqer Al Qassimi then welcomed Dr. Hrynkow to the University of Sharjah for a day­long series of meeting and tours of laboratory and training facilities and where she gave a major lecture to faculty and students. At the end of the visit to the University of Sharjah, proposals were on the table for joint collabora­tions in training and exchanges of senior and junior pro­fessionals, all of them now being pursued with the hope of creating a formal collaboration. A final meeting at the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority shed light on additional ways to advance joint activities.

In Abu Dhabi and Dubai, key introductory and informa­tional meetings were held with senior officials, including

DR. SHARON LEWIN TO HEAD GVN IN AUSTRALIAIn August, HIV/AIDS researcher, Dr. Sharon Lewin was named as the inaugural Director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity at the University of Melbourne. Professor Lewin was the co-chair of the International AIDS Conference AIDS2014 held in Melbourne in July and was just recently named as Melburnian of the Year by Lord Mayor Robert Doyle. The Doherty Institute brings together the University of Melbourne’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory, the Nossal Institute, Victorian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance System (VICNISS), Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL) Victorian Infectious Diseases Service (VIDS) and the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza. Dr. Lewin takes over from University of Melbourne Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Professor James McCluskey, who has led GVN activities in Australia since the Network’s establishment in 2011.

Audience at U. Sharjah GVN presentation

Sheikh Saqer Al Qassimi (center) and Dr. Hrynkow visit research lab at U. Sharjah. Dr. Nihar Dash (left), College of Health Sciences discusses challenges and opportunities.

First year medical students at the Dubai Medical College for Girls

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JOIN THIS YOUNG AND GROWING ORGANIZATION, and consider making a tax-deductible gift before year-end. The GVN is composed of 30 Centers of Excellence throughout the world. Your gift will help us expand our global network of medical virus researchers and research centers that is absolutely essential to mounting an unparalleled, collaborative response to future viral threats in a world in which rapidly mutating viruses can be transmitted across continents within hours. Within just two short years, GVN has produced a significant impact on the threat of viral diseases by supporting graduate-level training, short-term exchange programs, public education, and advocacy. Your support today will help build our organization and our critical programs to safeguard the health of the global community.

Please point your browser to www.gvn.org and click the Donate button at the top of the page or send your gift to:

Global Virus Network801 W. Baltimore Street, Suite 519Baltimore, MD 21201

All gifts will be acknowledged in our annual report and in our Newsletter.

Thank you for your support!

VIRION CONTRIBUTORS AND EDITORS

Nora Grannell, GVN Director of Public Relations

Robert C. Karrs, GVN Program Director

Edward McSweegan, PhD, GVN Program Director and Task Force Coordinator on Chikungunya and Ebola

Janucz Paweska, PhD, GVN Center of Excellence Director and Head of Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases National Institute for Communicable Diseases, South Africa

Maria Salvato, PhD, Executive Secretary of GVN Scientific Leadership Board and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Virion Guest Editor: Collin Weinberger, MPH, GVN Project Director

send news items for future Virion issues to: Nora Grannell, Director of Public Relations & Marketing ngrannell@gvn.org

ERRATA

On page 9 of the previous issue of Virion, a photo was mislabeled as Dr. Cal Macherson, Vice President and Director of WINDREF. The photo was actually of Dr. Donald Jungkind, Chair of the Microbiology Dept. and Professor, Director of Clinical Microbiology Lab. at St. George’s Univ. Medical School.

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