Robert Gallo
American biomedical researcher who helped prove HIV causes AIDS.
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via Wikipedia: List of biologists · see source
Gallo was ranked third in the world for scientific impact for the period 1983–2002.[1][2] Between 1980 and 1990, the Institute for Scientific Information ranked Robert Gallo as the world's most-cited scientist, and for the 1983–2002 period he placed third globally for scientific impact.[1][2]
Last updated 2026-10-01 from the source article.
Life and work
After listening to a talk by biologist David Baltimore, Gallo became interested in the study of retroviruses.[3] In 1982, Gallo received the Lasker Award for his pioneering studies that led to the discovery of the first human RNA tumor virus.[4] Providence College awarded him a B.S. in biology in 1959, and Jefferson Medical College granted him an M.D. in 1963.[5] The early death of his sister from leukemia, as Gallo himself recounts, steered him toward his professional path.[6]
A first-year post-doctoral fellow in Gallo's lab, Doris Anne Morgan, achieved the successful cultivation of T lymphocytes in 1976.[3] A 1976 Science paper co-authored by Gallo, Morgan, and Frank Ruscetti detailed their technique and identified T-cell growth factor (TCGF).[3] At the Second International Lymphokine Conference held in Interlaken, Switzerland, in 1978, the substance was renamed interleukin-2 (IL-2).[7] The first retrovirus ever identified in humans, human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV), was discovered by Gallo's group, with post-doctoral fellow Bernard Poiesz playing a key role in its isolation.[4]
What the cited sources add
A 1994 Chicago Tribune article reported that the Department of Health and Human Services formally acknowledged that Gallo had developed the American AIDS test using a virus discovered at the Pasteur Institute.[8] The same article stated that the virus used in the American AIDS test was the same virus Pasteur scientists sent to Gallo in 1983.[8] The HHS Office of Research Integrity concluded in 1992 that Gallo had deliberately misstated the role of the French virus in his work.[8] The NIH investigation established that Gallo's assistants used the LAV sample sent by Montagnier to develop the American AIDS test.[8]
In 2008, Montagnier and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi were awarded the Nobel Prize for their discovery of HIV, but Gallo was left out.[9][10]
References
- Wikipedia, "Robert Gallo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Robert C. Gallo (1937–)", NIH Eminent Scientist Profiles; O'Connor, "HIV/AIDS expert Robert Gallo, M.D., to speak at UNMC", University of Nebraska Medical Center, November 11, 2015 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- O'Connor, "HIV/AIDS expert Robert Gallo, M.D., to speak at UNMC", University of Nebraska Medical Center, November 11, 2015. facts only, no text reused. unmc.edu
- Wikipedia, "Robert Gallo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Selective in vitro growth of T lymphocytes from normal human bone marrows", Science, September 1976, p. 1007–8 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Robert Gallo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mier JW, Gallo RC, "Purification and some characteristics of human T-cell growth factor from phytohemagglutinin-stimulated lymphocyte-conditioned media", Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, Oct 1980, p. 6134–8; Poiesz BJ, Ruscetti FW, Gazdar AF, Bunn PA, Minna JD, Gallo RC, "Detection and isolation of type C retrovirus particles from fresh and cultured lymphocytes of a patient with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma", Proc Natl Acad Sci; Hattori T, Uchiyama T, Toibana T, Takatsuki K, Uchino H, "Surface phenotype of Japanese adult T-cell leukemia cells charac en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Robert Gallo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Red Gold Robert Gallo", PBS; "Red Gold Robert Gallo", PBS; "Red Gold Robert Gallo", PBS (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Robert Gallo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Palacio, "AIDS Researcher Robert Gallo Making a Difference", Voice of America, 2008-07-01 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Robert Gallo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: The Cytokine Handbook (2003), AW Thompson and PT Lotze, Gulf Professional Publishing (Elsevier) ( ); Zlotnik, "Perspective: Insights on the Nomenclature of Cytokines and Chemokines", Frontiers in Immunology, May 15, 2020, p. 908 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Crewdson, "U.S., France Settle Aids Virus Dispute; NIH will give up millions in profit from test patent", Chicago Tribune, 1994-07-12. facts only, no text reused. chicagotribune.com
- Wikipedia, "Robert Gallo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine", The Nobel Assembly, 2008-10-06; "The 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine", The Nobel Assembly, 2008-10-06; "Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. HIV, HPV researchers honored, but one scientist is left out", Science, October 2008, p. 174–5; Altman, "Three Europeans Win the 2008 Nobel for Medicine", New York Times, 2008-10-06 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "The 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine", The Nobel Assembly, 2008-10-06. facts only, no text reused. nobelprize.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Robert Gallo (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Robert Gallo (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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