Dr Peter Palese | PROFESSOR and CHAIR Microbiology
Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Dr Peter Palese, PROFESSOR and CHAIR Microbiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Peter Palese is a United States microbiologist and Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City,[1] and an expert in the field of RNA viruses.[2]

Palese built "the first genetic maps for influenza AB and C viruses, identified the function of several viral genes, ...defined the mechanism of neuraminidase inhibitors (which are now FDA-approved antivirals)" and "pioneered the field of reverse genetics for negative-strand RNA viruses".[3] Furtherance of this technique has been used by Palese and his colleagues in reconstructing and studying the pathogenicity of the extinct but deadly 1918 pandemic influenza virus.[4] Reverse genetics also assist in the development of new flu vaccines.

Palese is the author of multiple book chapters and more than 370 scientific publications. He is on the editorial board for Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He has been awarded multiple patents on viral vaccines and antivirals

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