Baltimore, Maryland, USA (Feb. 23, 2021) — The Global Virus Network (GVN), a coalition comprising the world’s foremost experts in every class of virus causing disease in humans and some animals, today announced that USF Health, at the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa, Fla., will serve as GVN’s Southeast United States Regional Headquarters.

USF Health is the first regional headquarters named by GVN to provide organizational and leadership support to GVN’s Global Headquarters in Baltimore, Md. In that capacity, USF Health will help strengthen GVN’s initial research response to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, and its collaborative efforts to plan for, and defend against, future epidemics and pandemics.

GVN encompasses virologists from 61 centers of excellence and 11 affiliates in 34 nations – all working to prevent illness and death from viral diseases posing threats to humanity. Bridging academia, government and industry, the coalition is internationally recognized as an authority and resource for identifying, investigating, interpreting, explaining, controlling, and suppressing viral diseases.

“USF Health is delighted to be a leading contributor to GVN’s administration, and to support and promote GVN’s virology research and public health policies. With our growing strength in infectious diseases at USF Health, the university is also well positioned to help GVN train and mentor the future leaders who can find new solutions to protect us against contagious diseases,” said Dr. Christian Bréchot, president of the GVN; associate vice president for International Partnerships and Innovation at 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 based at USF Health will encompass the four health sciences colleges of the university: the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, and the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy. USF Health is an integral part of USF, a high-impact global research university dedicated to student success. Over the past 10 years, no other public university in the country has risen faster in U.S. News and World Report’s national university rankings than USF.

The new Global Virus Network Southeast U.S. Regional Headquarters will be led by GVN President Dr. Christian Bréchot, professor of internal medicine at USF Health and associate vice president for International Partnerships and Innovation at USF, and GVN Vice President Linman Li of the USF Health Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine.

“USF Health has already been supporting GVN’s administrative efforts, and we are pleased to officially recognize their past efforts and ongoing efforts to advance the GVN by naming USF Health as the GVN Southeast U.S. Regional Headquarters,” said  Dr. Robert Gallo, GVN co-founder and international scientific advisor, who is also The Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine and Director of the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

In addition to their leadership roles at GVN Global Headquarters in Baltimore, Md., Dr. Bréchot and GVN Vice President Linman Li of the USF Health Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine will lead the new GVN Southeast U.S. Regional Headquarters and focus on regional efforts to expand government and other research funding, as well as research and training initiatives. The regional headquarters designation will enable USF Health scientists to partner with GVN experts worldwide to share ideas and research, to translate research into practical applications, to improve diagnostics and therapies, and to develop vaccines.

“We look forward to partnering with the Global Virus Network to advance the coalition’s leading work in viral research and evidence-based responses to epidemics and pandemics,” said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “The appearance of COVID-19 has transformed society almost beyond recognition, with lasting implications for health care, the economy and our social and psychological well-being. Together we can, and we must, be better prepared to meet the challenges of the next emerging virus.”

When new outbreaks arise, such as what happened with SARS-CoV-2, GVN experts stand ready to provide critical insights needed for infectious disease containment and prevention. The new partnership will help increase the authority, leadership, and visibility of USF Health and GVN in virology at the regional, national, and international levels.

GVN members collaborate on science-driven, independent research in many areas, including immunology and vaccines, antiviral drug therapy, virus-host interaction, diagnostic virology and epidemiology, morphogenesis and structural biology, emerging and re-emerging viruses, viruses as biotechnological tools, and trending topics in virology. They also train the next generation of virologists to combat the epidemics of the future.

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 comprising eminent human and animal virologists from 61 Centers of Excellence and 11 Affiliates in 34 countries worldwide, working collaboratively to train the next generation of virologists, 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

About USF Health
USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the Taneja College of Pharmacy, the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, the Biomedical Sciences Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs, and USF Health’s multispecialty physicians group. The University of South Florida is a high-impact global research university dedicated to student success. Over the past 10 years, no other public university in the country has risen faster in U.S. News and World Report’s national university rankings than USF. For more information, visit health.usf.edu

USF Health’s Dr. Christian Brechot leads the Global Virus Network

The University of South Florida was at the forefront when the world’s top virologists met recently to identify advances and pitfalls in the fight against COVID-19 and drive a “Viral Pandemic Readiness Alliance.”

USF Health’s Christian Bréchot, MD, PhD, president of the Global Virus Network, presided over the GVN’s 2020 Special Annual Meeting, held virtually Sept. 23-24. GVN is a network representing 57 research centers (including USF) and 10 affiliates in 33 countries – all working to prevent illness and death from viral disease through independent, science-driven expertise.

Christian Brechot, MD, PhD

With Dr. Brechot leading GVN and Linman Li, MBA, MPH, of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine’s Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine, serving as GVN vice-president, USF is now recognized as a major partner of the international coalition at a critical time for overall population health.

GVN convened the two-day workshop to address epidemics and pandemics in the modern era. Discussion and presentations focused largely on the COVID-19 pandemic, which has upended the world with its health, economic, social and psychological ramifications.

“We do not know what the future holds for COVID-19 – there may be seasonal variations, or chronic infections, or maybe a slowdown,” said Dr. Bréchot, senior associate dean for research in global affairs at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and professor in the Department of Internal Medicine.  “However, we know that we have to prepare now — not after the end of this pandemic. In the spirit of preparation, we used this special annual meeting to band together international experts to identify and analyze what went wrong, what has been properly handled, and what recommendations we can confidently make.”

The key take-away points from the workshop are included in this press release. An executive summary citing the major research issues discussed — including the need for rapid and reliable diagnostic testing based on salivary samples, repurposed drugs and new therapies combining direct antiviral approaches with immune modulation, and vaccines targeting innate immunity — can be viewed here.  GVN scientist also weighed in on the role of “super-spreaders” and “super-spreading events” in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection; read more about that research in Dr. Bréchot’s Oct. 7 blog.

As a result of the workshop, GVN is contacting the other stakeholder institutions to drive a multidisciplinary response strategy, called the Viral Pandemic Readiness Alliance. This alliance would help unify the efforts of academia, industry, government and communities in confronting the challenges of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and preparing for future viral threats.

“It may sound obvious, but as long as each country tries to address the COVID-19 pandemic on its own, we won’t come through,” Dr. Bréchot said. “This is a fight that is going to last, and we need to find solutions together. It requires global cooperation and coordination to efficiently translate our scientific and technological advances into successful infectious disease and public health outcomes.”