Born

15 April 1944 (age 77)

Nationality

American

Alma mater

University of Vienna

Awards

Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2000)

Robert Koch Prize (2006)

European Virology Award (2010)

Scientific career

Fields

Microbiology

Virology

Institutions

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Doctoral advisor

Hans Tuppy

Doctoral students

Vincent Racaniello

Peter Palese is a United States microbiologist and Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City,^[1] and an expert in the field of RNA viruses.^[2]

Palese built "the first genetic maps for influenza A, B and C viruses, identified the function of several viral genes, ...defined the mechanism of neuraminidase inhibitors (which are now FDA-approved antivirals)" and "pioneered the field of reverse genetics for negative-strand RNA viruses".^[3] Furtherance of this technique has been used by Palese and his colleagues in reconstructing and studying the pathogenicity of the extinct but deadly 1918 pandemic influenza virus.^[4] Reverse genetics also assist in the development of new flu vaccines.

Palese is the author of multiple book chapters and more than 400 scientific publications. He is on the editorial board for Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). He has been awarded multiple patents on viral vaccines and antivirals.^[5]

Biography

In high school, Palese had a classical education, in Greek and Latin, and very little modern science.^[6] He developed his interest in science later, at the University of Vienna, where he received his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1969 and his M.S. in pharmacy in 1970. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology from 1970 until 1971, when he joined the Department of Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai as Assistant Professor. In 1976 he was Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. In 1987 he was named Chairman of the Department of Microbiology of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.^[1][7]

When cells are infected by viruses, they respond with antiviral interferons. Palese and [Dr. Adolfo Garcia-Sastre (born 1964)] showed that most negative-strand RNA viruses counteract that antiviral response with protein antagonists to interferons. His work on "fundamental questions concerning the genetic make-up and biology of viruses" and virus-host interactions "uses molecular biological techniques to understand how viruses replicate and how they interact with cells to cause disease in their hosts", with emphasis on "the study of RNA viruses, including influenza, paramyxo and corona (SARS) viruses".^[1][8] Recent achievements include the development of a highly successful new animal model (the guinea pig) for studying the transmission of influenza viruses.^[9]

Honors and awards

Palese is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (2000), the Institute of Medicine (IOM) (2012), the Austrian Academy of Sciences (2002) and the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (2006). He has served the presidencies of the Harvey Society from 2003–2004 and the American Society of Virology from 2005–2006. In 2014, he was elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received an Honorary Doctorate from both Baylor College of Medicine (2014) and McMaster University (2016).

• Robert Koch Prize (2006).^[7][10]

• Charles C. Shepard Science Award (2006 and 2008).^[11]

• Wilhelm Exner Medal (2007).^[12]

• European Virology Award (EVA) (2010).^[13]

• Sanofi – Institut Pasteur Award (2012).

• Beijerinck Virology Prize from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (2015).^[14]

• Maurice Hilleman/Merck Award from American Society for Microbiology (2016).^[15]

Publications

Partial List:

• Palese, P. (1977). "The genes of influenza virus". Cell. 10 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(77)90133-7. PMID 837439. S2CID 6562438.

• Buonagurio, D. A.; Nakada, S.; Parvin, J. D.; Krystal, M.; Palese, P.; Fitch, W. M. (1986). "Evolution of human influenza a viruses over 50 years: Rapid, uniform rate of change in NS gene". Science. 232 (4753): 980–982. doi:10.1126/science.2939560. PMID 2939560.

• Luytjes, W.; Krystal, M.; Enami, M.; Parvin, J. D.; Palese, P. (1989). "Amplification, expression, and packaging of foreign gene by influenza virus". Cell. 59 (6): 1107–1113. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(89)90766-6. PMID 2598262. S2CID 251545.

• Enami, M.; Luytjes, W.; Krystal, M.; Palese, P. (1990). "Introduction of site-specific mutations into the genome of influenza virus". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 87 (10): 3802–3805. doi:10.1073/pnas.87.10.3802. PMC 53991. PMID 2339122.

• Fitch, W. M.; Leiter, J. M.; Li, X. Q.; Palese, P. (1991). "Positive Darwinian evolution in human influenza a viruses". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 88 (10): 4270–4274. doi:10.1073/pnas.88.10.4270. PMC 51640. PMID 1840695.

• García-Sastre, A.; Egorov, A.; Matassov, D.; Brandt, S.; Levy, D. E.; Durbin, J. E.; Palese, P.; Muster, T. (1998). "Influenza a virus lacking the NS1 gene replicates in interferon-deficient systems". Virology. 252 (2): 324–330. doi:10.1006/viro.1998.9508. PMID 9878611.

• Fodor, E.; Devenish, L.; Engelhardt, O. G.; Palese, P.; Brownlee, G. G.; García-Sastre, A. (1999). "Rescue of Influenza a Virus from Recombinant DNA". Journal of Virology. 73 (11): 9679–9682. doi:10.1128/JVI.73.11.9679-9682.1999. PMC 113010. PMID 10516084.

• Talon, J.; Salvatore, M.; O'Neill, R. E.; Nakaya, Y.; Zheng, H.; Muster, T.; García-Sastre, A.; Palese, P. (2000). "Influenza a and B viruses expressing altered NS1 proteins: A vaccine approach". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 97 (8): 4309–4314. doi:10.1073/pnas.070525997. PMC 18238. PMID 10725408.

• Tumpey, T. M.; Basler, C. F.; Aguilar, P. V.; Zeng, H.; Solórzano, A.; Swayne, D. E.; Cox, N. J.; Katz, J. M.; Taubenberger, J. K.; Palese, P.; García-Sastre, A. (2005). "Characterization of the Reconstructed 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic Virus". Science. 310 (5745): 77–80. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.418.9059. doi:10.1126/science.1119392. PMID 16210530. S2CID 14773861.

• Lowen, A. C.; Mubareka, S.; Tumpey, T. M.; García-Sastre, A.; Palese, P. (2006). "The guinea pig as a transmission model for human influenza viruses". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 (26): 9988–9992. doi:10.1073/pnas.0604157103. PMC 1502566. PMID 16785447.

• Zamarin, D.; Ortigoza, M. B.; Palese, P. (2006). "Influenza a Virus PB1-F2 Protein Contributes to Viral Pathogenesis in Mice". Journal of Virology. 80 (16): 7976–7983. doi:10.1128/JVI.00415-06. PMC 1563817. PMID 16873254.

• König, R.; Stertz, S.; Zhou, Y.; Inoue, A.; Hoffmann, H. -H.; Bhattacharyya, S.; Alamares, J. G.; Tscherne, D. M.; Ortigoza, M. B.; Liang, Y.; Gao, Q.; Andrews, S. E.; Bandyopadhyay, S.; De Jesus, P.; Tu, B. P.; Pache, L.; Shih, C.; Orth, A.; Bonamy, G.; Miraglia, L.; Ideker, T.; García-Sastre, A.; Young, J. A. T.; Palese, P.; Shaw, M. L.; Chanda, S. K. (2010). "Human Host Factors Required for Influenza Virus Replication". Nature. 463 (7282): 813–817. doi:10.1038/nature08699. PMC 2862546. PMID 20027183.

• Wang, T. T.; Tan, G. S.; Hai, R.; Pica, N.; Petersen, E.; Moran, T. M.; Palese, P. (2010). m. Fouchier, Ron A. (ed.). "Broadly Protective Monoclonal Antibodies against H3 Influenza Viruses following Sequential Immunization with Different Hemagglutinins". PLOS Pathogens. 6 (2): e1000796. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1000796. PMC 2829068. PMID 20195520.

• Steel, J.; Lowen, A. C.; Wang, T. T.; Yondola, M.; Gao, Q.; Haye, K.; Garcia-Sastre, A.; Palese, P. (2010). "Influenza Virus Vaccine Based on the Conserved Hemagglutinin Stalk Domain". mBio. 1 (1): e00018–e00010. doi:10.1128/mBio.00018-10. PMC 2912658. PMID 20689752.

• Wang, T. T.; Tan, G. S.; Hai, R.; Pica, N.; Ngai, L.; Ekiert, D. C.; Wilson, I. A.; Garcia-Sastre, A.; Moran, T. M.; Palese, P. (2010). "Vaccination with a synthetic peptide from the influenza virus hemagglutinin provides protection against distinct viral subtypes". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 107 (44): 18979–18984. doi:10.1073/pnas.1013387107. PMC 2973924. PMID 20956293.

• Palese, P. (2012). "Don't censor life-saving science". Nature. 481 (7380): 115. doi:10.1038/481115a. PMID 22237069.

References

• ^

• Jump up to:

• ^{a b c} "Mount Sinai School of Medicine – Peter Palese". Retrieved March 4, 2011.

• ^ Tyson, Peter (September 9, 2009). "The Evolving Flu". NOVA. PBS.org. Retrieved March 4, 2011.

• ^ "Mount Sinai School of Medicine – Meet the Chair". Retrieved March 23, 2011.

• ^ Lipchitz, Rebecca (September 28, 2005). "Lessons learned from the influenza pandemic of 1918". BU Today. Boston University. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2011.

• ^ "Patentdocs". Retrieved March 4, 2011.

• ^ TWiV 396: Influenza viruses with Peter Palese, July 3, 2016.

• ^

• Jump up to:

• ^{a b} "Robert-Koch-Stiftung – Lebensläufe der Preisträger". Retrieved March 4, 2011.

• ^ "Vivaldi Biosciences, Inc". Retrieved March 4, 2011.

• ^ Knox, Richard (May 8, 2009). "Flu Heads South for the Winter". Retrieved March 8, 2011.

• ^ "Springer Science & Business Media". Retrieved March 4, 2011.

• ^ "ContraFect Corp. Scientific Board – Unprecedented expertise in the study of Influenza and other infectious diseases". Archived from the original on January 20, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2011.

• ^ Editor, ÖGV. (2015). Wilhelm Exner Medal. Austrian Trade Association. ÖGV. Austria.

• ^ "European Society for Virology". Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2011.

• ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-03-20. Retrieved 2015-02-12.

• ^ "2016 ASM Microbe Award Winners". www.asm.org. Retrieved 2016-10-12.

Researchers have identified a common molecule between strains that they believe will help develop a onetime, more effective vaccine.

Every year the flu has an adverse impact on society, causing illness to millions, hospitalizing hundreds of thousands and leading to tens of thousands of deaths in the United States.

All this, despite the availability of a flu vaccine.

"Of all the vaccines that we've developed over the years, influenza vaccine can use a lot of improvement," says Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Vaccines for other diseases, like yellow fever, measles, and polio, are all more than 95 percent effective at preventing infection.

The flu vaccine? Since 2005, it's about 40 percent on average, but its effectiveness varies widely season to season with initial estimates of this year's flu shot at about 36 percent.

That's because the part of the flu virus targeted by the seasonal vaccine changes each year.

So, efforts are underway to develop a so-called universal flu vaccine, one that would work no matter what strain of flu is circulating and be durable for multiple seasons.

Dr. Peter Palese's group at Mt Sinai's ICAHN School of Medicine is among those working on such a vaccine. Those in the field refer to it as influenza's holy grail.

"A universal influenza virus vaccine is one which would last a lifetime hopefully, but at least we hope it works for 20 years or even longer," says Dr. Palese.

Only recently have discoveries about the flu virus and new technologies enabled the work on a universal flu vaccine to accelerate.

"We only realized about 10 or more years ago that there was a part of the virus that doesn't change from season to season. Once we recognized that, the real problem and the stumbling block is how do you get the body to preferentially make a response against that molecule?" explains Dr. Fauci.

Palese's team, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, has one approach.

"We are building a virus in the laboratory, a new one which isn't out there, and then we make from that a vaccine," says Dr. Palese.

The new virus is designed to stimulate an immune response that will protect from the flu from season to season.