Dr. Gale will serve as Chair, Department of Microbiology and Immunology (DMI) at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, and Director of the University of Minnesota Institute on Infectious Diseases (UMIID).

New research from the Gale lab reveals that maternal to fetal prenatal exposure to Zika virus leads to profound disruption of fetal myelin, myelin unwrapping from neurons, and extensive suppression in gene expression for key components of oligodendrocyte maturation and myelin production. Because myelin is critical for cortical development, Zika virus-related perturbations in fetal brain myelination could render long-term consequences on childhood neurodevelopment resulting from Zika virus infection during pregnancy.

In a collaborative study we evaluated viral shedding, and we isolated and sequenced virus across time, comparing outcomes with current diagnostic testing and clinical features of infection and recovery.  Remarkably, some people are viral RNA+ for up to 30 days following COVID symptom onset.

Read the study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36913789/

Targeting RIG-I with small molecules for induction of innate immunity enhances influenza A virus vaccine immunity including heterologous immunity against multiple viral HA types. This study reveals RIG-I as a valid drug target for strategies to effectively enhance broad spectrum antiviral immunity against virus infection. 

In a study led by Dr. Michael Davis, the Gale lab revealed innate immunity as an essential component of disease control and recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Read the study:  https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/11/1/47

A study led by Dr. Rebecca Olson, the Gale lab shows that HIV latency and viral suppression each link with cell-intrinsic defects in specific innate immune gene expression. We identify a set of innate immune effector genes as candidate viral latency restriction factors whose expression and function could possibly mitigate establishing latent HIV infection.

The Gale lab has been named on the annual Highly Cited Researchers each year since 2014, and has made this list again for 2022 from Clarivate. This ranking places our group among the top 1% of all cited research teams in the World across the fields of innate immunity, microbiology, and infectious disease. The Gale lab is joined by additional research groups around the world as leaders in their respective fields.

From the Gale Lab, Pathogen Associated Malignancies Program, Cancer Consortium.

https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/spotlight/2022/02/ccg-lee-iscience.html

UW joins USAID’s $125M project to detect emerging viruses with pandemic potential.

Check out the USAID’s media release.