 Back
in 1971, when Dr. John I. Gallin came to the National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, some scientists believed
that all the important problems in infectious diseases had been
solved by antibiotics. But Dr. Gallin subscribed to the idea
that outbreaks of new infectious diseases were inevitable. That
idea was proven correct by the emergence of AIDS.
Dr. Gallin studied how white blood cells known as phagocytic
cells—our first line of defense against infection—moved
out of the bloodstream and into the surrounding tissue to fight
infectious agents. He made important contributions to understanding
chronic granulomatous disease, a phagocyte disorder. During
the early 80s, he studied phagocytic cells in some of the first
AIDS patients to come to the NIH Clinical Center. In 1985, he
became NIAID scientific director, succeeding Dr. Kenneth Sell,
and in that position coordinated NIAID's on-campus fight against
AIDS.
In 1986, when Congress dramatically increased funding to study
AIDS, it was Dr. Gallin who oversaw how the money was spent.
He helped initiate or was involved in many important projects
and programs, including the international effort to study AIDS
in Zaire, known as Project SIDA; the creation of the first AIDS
clinic at the NIH Clinical Center; and the development of a
monkey model for HIV disease.
Today, Dr. Gallin continues his work to understand, prevent,
and treat infectious diseases as director of NIH's Clinical
Center. |
