After haggling with the administrations of two institutions for 10 years, the Institute of Human Virology aligned itself with the University of Maryland School of Medicine this week.
“One of the big problems the institute has faced is we were straddling between two universities,” institute director Dr. Robert Gallo said referring to the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute.
Previously residing in UMBI, the institute began 10 years ago as a partnership between the state, the city of Baltimore, the University System of Maryland and the University of Maryland Medical System, according to a release by IHV and the School of Medicine.
IHV?s nearly 300 employees include more than 50 university faculty whose research focuses on chronic human viral infection and disease. More than 75 percent of the institute?s clinical and research efforts target HIV, but viruses associated with hepatitis C, herpes and cancer are also in the virology institute?s crosshairs.
However, fielding staff from both School of Medicine and UMBI made writing grants, cooperation and communication within the institute difficult.
Institute researchers have pulled more than 20 patents and discovered chemokines, the first known naturally occurring HIV inhibitors. Additionally, they created a genetic test for dangerous microbes that could lead to disease in the human body long before they can be detected by traditional means.
“The University of Maryland School of Medicine shares the entrepreneurial and scientific spirit embodied bythe Institute of Human Virology,” Dean E. Albert Reece said. “We are confident that IHV will contribute enormously to the many technologies and discoveries made by School of Medicine faculty in our search for treatments and cures for illnesses and diseases that affect people in Baltimore, Maryland and the world.”
