Newswise — Baltimore, Maryland, USA, March 1, 2023: The Global Virus Network (GVN), representing 71 Centers of Excellence and 9 Affiliates in 40 countries comprising foremost experts in every class of virus causing disease in humans, and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil announced the addition of the Laboratory for Clinical Research in Neuroinfections (LabClin-Neuro), the Principal National Reference Centre for Neurovirology Infections at the National Institute of Health located at Fiocruz, as GVN’s newest Center of Excellence.
“We are pleased to add world-renowned, Fiocruz’s Laboratory for Clinical Research in Neuroinfections to our existing Center of Excellence in Brazil, Scientific Platform Pasteur-University of São Paulo (SPPU),” said Christian Bréchot, MD, PhD, President of the GVN, Associate Vice President for International Partnerships and Innovation at University of South Florida (USF), and Professor, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the GVN Southeast U.S. Regional Headquarters. “LabClin-Neuro will grow GVN’s network especially in Latin-American and Portuguese speaking countries, which are extremely important in combatting viral outbreaks.”
The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), where LabClin-Neuro is located, is a prominent institution of science and technology in health in Latin America. Bound to the Ministry of Health, its mission is to produce, disseminate and share knowledge and technologies, aiming at strengthening and consolidating the Brazilian Public Health System and the promotion of health and quality of life for the population. The Foundation works in all stages of public health, from basic research and health care to innovation and production of supplies, such as vaccines, diagnosis kits and drugs. The latest GVN Center at LabClin-Neuro is led by, Abelardo de Queiroz-Campos Araújo, MD, MSc, PhD, FAAN, FABN, Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology at the Institute of Neurology of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a Senior Researcher at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fiocruz, Brazilian Ministry of Health, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
"On behalf of my institution, my collaborators, and myself, I want to thank GVN for approving the Laboratory of Clinical Research in Neuroinfections (LabClin-Neuro - National Institute of Infectious Diseases, FIOCRUZ, Brazilian Ministry of Health) as a GVN Center of Excellence,” said Dr. Araújo. “We are pleased to collaborate with the GVN and extend our resources to enhance health-related research, development of vaccines, drugs, reagents, and diagnostic kits research, development and production, training of public health and health workers, and providing information and communications related to health, science, and technology, among other important initiatives.”
Dr. Araújo is a world-renowned scholar in neurovirology with a focus on neurological and virus infections. He leads four fulltime neurologists with MD and PhD degrees and the unit has nursing and laboratory technical support. Dr. Araújo's main research focus is on Human T Cell Leukemia (HTVL-1) Myelopathy/Tropical Spastic Paraparesis (HAM/TSP) and over the past 30 years has developed a cohort of over 1200 patients. More recently, he has been involved in the neurological manifestations of COVID-19 infection and his team have evaluated over 800 patients.
“Professor Araújo’s contribution was recently recognized at the 2022 Brazilian Academy of Neurology where he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for the development of research in the field of neuroinfections in Brazil,” William Hall, MD, PhD, Emeritus Professor University College Dublin and Co-Founder of the GVN. “He also has been an outstanding collaborator with virologists in Europe and the Americas and I am confident this will continue with all GVN members.”
“Fiocruz is South America’s premier infectious disease center, and their LabClin-Neuro experts fill a big niche in GVN’s needs,” said Robert C. Gallo, MD, The Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, Co-founder & Director, Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Co-founder & Chair of the Scientific Leadership Board of the GVN. “We are pleased and proud to welcome them to the GVN.”
About the Global Virus Network (GVN)
The Global Virus Network (GVN) is essential and critical in the preparedness, defense and first research response to emerging, existing and unidentified viruses that pose a clear and present threat to public health, working in close coordination with established national and international institutions. It is a coalition comprised of eminent human and animal virologists from 71 Centers of Excellence and 9 Affiliates in 40 countries worldwide, working collaboratively to train the next generation, advance knowledge about how to identify and diagnose pandemic viruses, mitigate and control how such viruses spread and make us sick, as well as develop drugs, vaccines and treatments to combat them. No single institution in the world has expertise in all viral areas other than the GVN, which brings together the finest medical virologists to leverage their individual expertise and coalesce global teams of specialists on the scientific challenges, issues and problems posed by pandemic viruses. The GVN is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. For more information, please visit www.gvn.org. Follow us on Twitter @GlobalVirusNews.
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