Peter Palese

 ( American Virologists ) 

He built "the first genetic maps for influenza A, Influenzavirus B and Influenzavirus C viruses, identified the function of several viral genes, defined the mechanism of neuraminidase inhibitors (which are now FDA-approved Antiviral drug) and "pioneered the field of reverse genetics for negative-strand ". 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. Reverse genetics is also instrumental in developing new influenza viruses/vaccines.

When viruses infect cells, they respond with antiviral interferons -- Palese and Adolfo García-Sastre 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, Paramyxoviridae and Coronavirus". He developed a new animal model (the guinea pig) for studying the transmission of influenza viruses. Palese has been involved in developing novel vaccines against influenza viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. Several of these vaccine approaches have been in human trials. Also, an anti-cancer vaccine based on a Newcastle disease virus vector has been tested in humans.

As of 2022, Palese and his team are working on creating a universal influenza virus vaccine, and SARS-CoV-2, specifically for low and middle-income countries.

• Robert Koch Prize (2006).
• Charles C. Shepard Science Award (2006 and 2008).
• Wilhelm Exner Medal (2007).Editor, ÖGV. (2015). Wilhelm Exner Medal. Austrian Trade Association. ÖGV. Austria.
• European Virology Award (EVA) (2010).
• Sanofi – Institut Pasteur Award (2012).
• Beijerinck Virology Prize from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (2015).
• Maurice Hilleman/Merck Award from American Society for Microbiology (2016).
• Lifetime Achievement Award for Scientific Contributions, Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine (2017)
• Drexel Prize in Translational Medicine (2017)

• Palese, P., Roizman, B., eds. Genetic Variation of Viruses. New York: The New York Academy of Sciences; 1980.
• Palese, P., Kingsbury, D.W., eds. Genetics of Influenza Viruses. New York: Springer-Verlag; 1983.
• Palese, P., Roizman, B., eds. Genetic Engineering of Viruses and Viral Vectors. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences; 1997.
• Basler, C., Palese, P. Modulation of Innate Immunity by Filoviruses. In: Klenk, H., Feldmann, H., eds. Ebola and Marburg Viruses, Molecular and Cellular Biology. Chap 11. Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK: BIOS Scientific Publishers; 2004:305-50.
• Palese, P., ed. Modulation of Host Gene Expression and Innate Immunity by Viruses. The Netherlands: Springer; 2005.
• Taubenberger, J.K., Palese, P. The Origin and Virulence of the 1918 Spanish Influenza Virus. In: Kawaoka, Y., ed. Influenza Virology Current Topics. Wymondham, UK: Caister Academic Press; 2006.
• Shaw, M.L. and Palese, P. Orthomyxoviruses: Molecular Biology. In: Mahy, B.W.J. and Van Regenmortel, M.H.V., eds. Encyclopedia of Virology, 3rd ed. Oxford: Elsevier; 2008:483-489.
• Hayden, F.G., Palese, P. Influenza Virus. In: Richman, D.D., Whitley, R.J., Hayden, F.G., eds. Clinical Virology. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: ASM Press; 2009:943-976.
• Kopecky-Bromberg, S.A., Palese, P. Recombinant Vectors as Influenza Vaccines. In: Compans, R.W., Orenstein, W.A., eds. Vaccines for Pandemic Influenza. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg; 2009:243-268.
• Pica, N., Palese, P. and Steel, J. Live Attenuated Influenza Virus Vaccines: NS1 Truncation as an Approach to Virus Attenuation. In: Dormitzer, P.R., Mandl, C.W. and Rappuoli, R., eds. Replicating Vaccines. Basel: Springer; 2011:195-221.
• Pica, N. and Palese, P. Toward a Universal Influenza Virus Vaccine: Prospects and Challenges. In: Annual Review of Medicine. 2013:15-28.
• Palese, P. Influenza and Its Viruses. In: Engleberg, N.C., DiRita, V., Dermody, T.S., eds. Schaechter’s Mechanisms of Microbial Disease, 5th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2013: chapter 36.
• Krammer, F. and Palese, P. Orthomyxoviridae: The Viruses and their Replication. In: Knipe, D.M., Howley, P.M. et al., eds. Fields Virology, 7th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer; 2021.

Partial list of peer-reviewed articles:

• The Mount Sinai Hospital homepage
• The Mount Sinai School of Medicine homepage
• The Palese Laboratory at the Mount Sinai Medical Center
• Swine flu discussion with Dr. Peter Palese on Give and Take with Julie Menin
• A roundtable discussion about the avian flu. Laurie Garrett, Harvey V. Fineberg, Peter Palese and Paul Nurse on Charlie Rose, March 22, 2008.
• Swine Flu: H1N1 Interview with Dr. Peter Palese on 60 Minutes
• TWiV 396: Influenza viruses with Peter Palese, July 3, 2016. Interview with Vincent Racaniello on his career in virology, from early work on neuraminidases to universal influenza virus vaccines.