Gladstone researcher wins 2012 Alumni Achievement Award from WUSTL

Warner C. Greene, MD, PhD-who directs virology and immunology research at the Gladstone Institutes-has won the 2012 Alumni Achievement Award from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (WUSTL).

This prestigious award acknowledges outstanding personal achievement and professional accomplishments, with a particular dedication to the Washington University Medical Center. Dr. Greene trained in the Medical Scientist Training Program at WUSTL, considered to be one of the finest physician-scientist training programs in the United States.

"It is an honor and a pleasure to receive this award," said Dr. Greene, who is also a senior investigator at Gladstone and a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), with which Gladstone is affiliated. "It is indeed very gratifying to be recognized by my alma mater."

Other recipients of this year's Alumni Achievement Award include Keith Bridwell, MD; Gary Rachelefsky, MD and Pejman Salimpour, MD.

Under Dr. Greene's direction, virology and immunology research at Gladstone takes a multidisciplinary approach to fighting HIV/AIDS-which remains a global scourge, with more than 30 million people worldwide living with HIV. He studies the molecular mechanisms that underlie HIV infection. Recently, Dr. Greene's lab identified human protein fragments in semen that enhance the ability of HIV to infect new cells-a discovery that one day could help stem the global spread of this deadly pathogen.

Earlier this month, Dr. Greene was also honored with the 2012 Distinguished Research Career Award from the Ohio State University Center for Retrovirus Research. This award pays tribute to the career of a scientist working in the field of retrovirology. Dr. Greene was recognized for his substantial body of work on the molecular biology, immunology and pathogenesis of HIV-1 and HTLV-1.

"We are delighted that Dr. Greene is being acknowledged for his work to overcome one of the world's most devastating diseases," said R. Sanders Williams, MD, president of Gladstone. "These honors are highly deserved and speak both to his high accomplishments and his dedication to patients."