Doctor who identified HIV to speak at UL

THE doctor who was one of the research team which first identified the HIV virus, will be guest speaker at the University of Limerick (UL) next week.

Dr Robert C Gallo will deliver a lecture entitled Viruses, Epidemics and Putting an End to Deadly Diseases in the 21st Century in the Jean Monnet Lecture Theatre on January 20.

Dr Gallo is director of the Institute of Human Virology at University of Maryland School of Medicine. With colleagues, Dr Gallo discovered HIV and provided the first results to show that HIV was the cause of AIDS. Dr Gallo and his colleagues went on to develop the life-saving HIV blood test.

Speaking in advance on the lecture, Dr Gallo said; “Can the field of medicine and public at large remember the lessons of past epidemics for longer than a decade or two and will HIV be conquered within the next few decades?”

During this lecture Dr Gallo will address these questions and explore the world’s future in terms of handling epidemic diseases.

Dr Gallo’s appearance coincides with UL’s third annual research forum hosted by the Graduate Entry Medical School. Thirty researchers from the university will also take part in the forum covering research in the areas of pharmaceuticals, biomedical devices, education, medical technology, pediatrics, psychiatry, nutrition and obesity.

Keynote speaker will be HSE assistant national director of health protection, Dr Kevin Kelleher who will deliver a lecture, The human swine influenza pandemic: recent developments.