Giuseppe Pantaleo

Giuseppe PANTALEO, M.D.

Professor of Medicine
Chief, Division of Immunology and Allergy
Head, Laboratory of AIDS Immunopathogenesis,
Department of Medicine, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV)
University of Lausanne, Switzerland

 

Short CV

Giuseppe Pantaleo, M.D., Professor of medicine, is Chief of the Division of Immunology and Allergy. He is also Chief of the Laboratory of AIDS Immunopathogenesis at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), University of Lausanne, Switzerland. During the past ten years, Professor Pantaleo’s research has been focused on the delineation of the immunopathogenesis of HIV infection. His research activities have been focused on human T cell cloning, human T cell phenotypic and functional analysis, T cell activation, differentiation and memory, immunopathogenesis of HIV infection, HIV distribution in different anatomic compartments, antiretroviral therapy, immune reconstitution after antiretroviral therapy, immune-based therapeutic strategies and vaccines.

Professor Pantaleo is author and co-author of about 290 publications in international scientific journals.

He has been honoured with the following prizes:

  • Individual Member of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (2013)
  • FBM Awards 2012 - The Translational Research Award (2012)
  • Member of the Scientific Committee of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise (2009)
  • Member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the HIV Vaccine Trial Network (HVTN) (2005)
  • Cloetta-Award in Basic and Clinical Experimental Medicine (2000)
  • Pfizer Research Prize in Clinical Research in Infectious Diseases (1999)
  • National Institutes of Health NIH Director’s Award (1996)
  • Academia dei Lincei – Award in Basic and Clinical Virology (Guido Lenghi and Flaviano Magrassi Foundation) (1996)
  • Public Health Service Special Achievement (1994)
  • National Institutes of Health Award of Merit (1993).

Biography

Professor Giuseppe Pantaleo was born on June 17th, 1956 in Bari, Italy. In 1980, he received the degree in medicine with full marks and honors, and in 1983, he obtained the Board in Clinical Hematology.

His scientific career in the field of immunology began in 1983 working on the development of a limiting dilution cloning system which was critical for the subsequent studies aimed at the phenotypic and functional characterization of circulating T lymphocytes. From 1985 to 1987, he was amongst the pioneers in the delineation of the molecular and biochemical mechanisms involved in signal transduction in human T lymphocytes.

In 1989, Professor Pantaleo joined the Laboratory of Immunoregulation, NIAID, NIH. He was the first to demonstrate the defective clonogenic potential of CD8+ T lymphocytes and the selective defect of HIV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Then, he studied the relationship between immune response and viral reservoirs in different anatomic compartments. He demonstrated that lymphoid organs function as a major reservoir for HIV, and that active virus replication occurs in lymphoid organs throughout the course of HIV disease including the prolonged period of clinical latency. These findings have completely changed the clinical and therapeutic management of HIV infection.

In the following years, he has continued to provide important contributions to the understanding the immunopathogenesis of HIV infection. Amongst these, it is noteworthy to mention the delineation of the virologic and immunologic events associated with primary HIV infection, and the observation that the proportion of CD8+ T cells involved in antiviral immune response was substantially higher compared to what previously estimated.

Since 1996 he has pioneered the field of immune-based interventions in HIV infection.

Since 1998 he has been a major player in the development of a European vaccine program for HIV.

In 2006, Dr. Pantaleo has been awarded with a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to lead an international Vaccine Discovery Consortium.

Dr. Pantaleo is also one of the main initiators of the Swiss Institute for Vaccine Research (SIVR) and, since its creation at the end of 2007, has become the Executive Director of the SIVR. The Institute will develop an immunology, microbiology and vaccine research laboratory platform to encourage cooperation between scientists working in the field of HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, influenza and cancer vaccine development in Switzerland, from fundamental to clinical researchers.

Professor Pantaleo is author and co-author of more than 280 publications in internationally scientific journals.

Dr. Pantaleo is Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Immunology and Allergy (IAL) and of the Laboratory of AIDS Immunopathogenesis at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

 Last updated on 09/01/2024 at 16:44