Vaccines for Infectious Diseases at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research: AIDS to Zika

Date/Time: 07 May 2019, 2:30 PM
Speaker: Nelson L. Michael, M.D., Ph.D.
Speaker Affiliation: Director, Center for Infectious Diseases Research, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), Silver Spring, Maryland
Venue: John A. Burns School of Medicine, Medical Education Building Auditorium (Room 315)

For more info: Dr. Vivek Nerurkar (nerurkar@hawaii.edu)
Description: Nelson L. Michael, M.D., Ph.D is the Director, Center for Infectious Diseases Research, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR).

Prior to this, Dr. Michael served for 29 years in the U.S. Army at the WRAIR including 12 years as the Director of the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP) at WRAIR from January 2006 to 25 April 2018 and 8 months as the WRAIR Deputy Commander. Dr. Michael retired from the U.S. Army on 30 September 2018 at the rank of Colonel, Medical Corps. MHRP is an international HIV vaccine research program that successfully integrates HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment. Dr. Michael guided MHRP through the completion of the RV144 HIV prime-boost vaccine study. This clinical trial, an international collaboration that involved more than 16,000 Thai volunteers, provided the world’s first demonstration that a preventive HIV vaccine was possible. Dr. Michael entered his Army service in 1989 in WRAIR’s Department of Vaccine Research, Division of Retrovirology, and later served as the Chief, Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Pathogenesis.

Dr. Michael’s research interests include HIV molecular pathogenesis and host genetics, HIV clinical research, and HIV/Ebola/MERS Co-V and ZIKV vaccine development. He is a Professor of Medicine, Uniformed Services University and is a Diplomat, American Board of Internal Medicine. He serves as a peer reviewer of many scientific journals and is author, coauthor of more than 340 scientific publications, and eight textbooks. Honors include Army Commendation Medal (1992, 1996), Joint Service Commendation Medal (2013), Army Achievement Medal (1996, 2018), Army Meritorious Service Medal (2004, 2010, 2018), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (2013), Legion of Merit (2018), and the Hero of Military Medicine (Army) Award (2013).

Dr. Michael served on President Obama’s Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (2009-2016), the Vaccine Research Center Scientific Advisory Working Group (NIAID, NIH), Office of AIDS Research Advisory Committee (NIH), AIDS Research Advisory Committee (NIAID, NIH), AIDS Vaccine Research Working Group (DAIDS, NIAID, and NIH), Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology Scientific Advisory Board, and the Board of Directors of the Global HIV AIDS Vaccine Enterprise.

Dr. Michael graduated summa cum laude from University of California, Los Angeles in 1979 with a degree in biology and from Stanford University with M.D. and Ph.D. (cancer biology) degrees in 1986. He trained in internal medicine at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital from 1986-1989.

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