Many of the world’s most respected virologists will now have a home at the University of South Florida. Leaders and stakeholders celebrated the opening of the Global Virus Network’s international headquarters this month at the USF Health Institute for Translational Virology and Innovation (at the USF Research Park in Tampa).
The nonprofit coalition, which consists of more than 90 Centers of Excellence and Affiliates in over 40 countries, focuses on advancing research and pandemic preparedness for current and future threats. It was co-founded in 2011 by Dr. Robert Gallo, who helped discover that HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the cause of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).
The USF Health Institute for Translational Virology and Innovation is a Center of Excellence.
Dr. Christian Bréchot, GVN Board of Directors vice chair and president emeritus, has been a professor at the University of South Florida for more than five years. Previously, he served as president of the French-based Institut Pasteur – a nonprofit organization dedicated to “advancing science, medicine and public health,” according to its website.
“I very much value international collaborations,” he said. “We are kind of in a strange peacetime regarding pandemics. We should never forget that we just got out of Covid-19.”
More diseases such as mpox (once known as monkeypox) could prove to be dangerous globally.
“We need to reinforce the virologists,” Bréchot explained. “It is about the next generation of virologists. We also need to reinforce the communication of science-based facts.”
The University of South Florida was selected to host GVN’s international headquarters in 2024. This, he added, reflects a committed partnership.
“USF is very vibrant, young and willing to invest in new projects,” Bréchot said. “When my friends came to USF when we had meetings, they were very impressed by the dynamic. We need to expand its international outreach and visibility.”
A key aspect of GVN is conversations. Bréchot was president of the coalition during the Covid-19 pandemic. Members of the organization would meet every week to “pinpoint what was going on” and “what should be done regarding diagnostics, treatments, admission of treatments and admission of vaccines once they became available.”
GVN’s task, he explained, is to help “decide what is important for research.” Action committees focus on specific viral categories or threats.
“The question is not whether we will have viral pandemics in the future – the question is when,” Bréchot said. “What Covid-19 showed was that collaboration and preparation are at the heart of success.”
He added that the coalition is preparing a “playbook” for hospitals worldwide. Many countries, including the U.S., were not ready for the pandemic when it became an issue six years ago.
With the partnership with USF, the organization has a facility to support early-stage research on viruses. This can help young scientists “hatch new ideas.”
The GVN Academy offers multiple programs including the Rising Star Mentorship initiative, Bréchot said. Early-career investigators work alongside GVN mentors and gain access to training, research support and collaboration opportunities.
“We are proud that the Global Virus Network has chosen to establish its International Headquarters at USF, connecting our students, researchers and clinicians with leading virologists and institutions around the world,” said USF president Moez Limayem in a prepared statement. “This partnership reflects USF Health’s leadership in global health and advances our mission to drive high-impact research and scientific collaboration.”