Robert C. Gallo, M.D.
Director of the Institute of Human Virology and Professor of Medicine
Microbiology and Immunology
School of Medicine
University of Maryland
Baltimore, MD
Dr. Gallo was awarded the $10,000 Frank Annunzio Award in the Science/Technology field. Dr. Gallo is universally recognized for his pioneering research into the understanding of human disease which has led to the eradication of certain deadly diseases and opened new frontiers in medical research. He was among the first to apply the tools of molecular biology to advance the understanding of human disease. These discoveries laid the foundation for new diagnostic and therapeutic interventions for cancer, chronic viral disease and autoimmunity.
Dr. Gallo has been awarded 15 honorary doctorates from universities in the United States, Sweden, Italy, Israel, Peru, Belgium and Argentina. He is a member of numerous professional and honorary societies including the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of Medicine (Glasgow, Scotland), and the Royal Society of Medicine (Brussels, Belgium) among several others.
He has received numerous other scientific honors and awards. Dr. Gallo was the most referenced scientist in the world between 1980 and 1990; is on the editorial board of numerous scientific journals; and is the author of more than 1100 scientific publications.
His major current scientific interests are the mechanisms of how HIV causes AIDS; developing better and safer therapy of HIV-infected people; helping to develop an effective preventive vaccine; and basic studies on the biology of human cancer cells, including the role of viruses in some human cancers
The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation is honored to have had the assistance of the following distinguished individuals serving on the 2000 Frank Annunzio Awards Evaluation Committee:
John S. Foster, Ph.D. – TRW (retired), Redondo Beach, CA
Corey Powell – Senior Science and Technology Editor, DISCOVER Magazine, New York, NY
Jonathan Woodward, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN (Dr. Woodward received the 1997 Christopher Columbus Foundation Award)
