Richard Gallo

Richard L. Gallo
Born	(1958-12-09) December 9, 1958 (age 66) United States
Occupation(s)	Professor, Immunologist, Microbiologist, Dermatologist
Known for	Antimicrobial Peptides, Microbiome

Richard L. Gallo is an American immunologist, microbiologist and dermatologist who is a Distinguished Professor and founding Chairman of Dermatology at the University of California, San Diego. ^[1] He has worked on antimicrobial peptides in mammalian skin, links between innate immunity and skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis and rosacea, and the functions of the skin microbiome in host immune defense. ^[2]

Gallo's discoveries have earned him international acclaim and include the first report of the presence of antimicrobial peptides in mammalian skin. His interdisciplinary work in immunology, dermatology, microbiology and general internal medicine has advanced understanding of the pathphysiology of several diseases including Rosacea, Atopic Dermatitis, Acne, and systemic comorbidities associated with dermatologic diseases. Included among several prestigious awards, Gallo has been elected a member of the US National Academy of Medicine, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a fellow of the American Society for Microbiology and an international fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London).

Education

Gallo did his undergraduate studies at the University of Chicago, earned his MD and PhD at the University of Rochester, interned in Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital, was a Dermatology resident at Harvard Medical School and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University under the supervision of Merton Bernfield ^[3] '

Research

Gallo studies how humans interact with the environment and protect themselves from infection. He discovered that antimicrobial peptides are present in mammalian skin by demonstrating that cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides(Cathelicidins) are present during wound repair. ^[4] Subsequent work from his laboratory used molecular techniques to produce a knock out mouse that has shown how cathelicidin antimicrobials protect against infection in several organs including the skin. ^[5] By using a wide variety of biochemical and genetic tools his work has also shown that other antimicrobial peptides and elements of innate immunity such as Toll-like receptors and Hyaluronan influence human health. His work has translated into a new understanding of the cause of rosacea, a finding with immediate therapeutic implications. Most recently his research has defined biochemical mechanisms through which Vitamin D and the normal skin microflora Microbiome can control immune responses. These latest findings have advanced understanding of the Hygiene hypothesis, Atopic Dermatitis and Rosacea. His analysis of the function of the human skin microbiome is leading discovery of new therapeutic approaches to disease by discovering molecules from bacteria on the skin that can be used for drugs.

Several press releases and scientific publications have reported his discoveries. ^{[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]}

Awards and honors

• 1990- AMA/Archives of Dermatology Young Investigator Award
• 2002- Stern Endowment for Dermatology Research, Nobel Lectureship- Karolinska Institute
• 2003- Elected American Society for Clinical Investigation
• 2006- Montagna Award, Society for Investigative Dermatology
• 2007- CE.R.I.E.S. Award
• 2009- Stiefel Lectureship, Dermatology Foundation; Blank Lectureship, SID; Mertz award, Duhring Lectureship-U Penn
• 2010- Elected Association of American Physicians
• 2011- Rene’Touraine Award-European Society Dermatologic Research
• 2012- Sulzberger Award- American Academy of Dermatology, Lerner lecture-Yale, Gilliam Lecture-UT Southwestern
• 2013- Rook Oration, British Academy of Dermatology
• 2014- Elected American Society for Microbiology, Dohi Lectureship and Honorary membership in Japanese Dermatology Association
• 2015- Haynes Lectureship, Harvard Medical School, Rodan-Fields Lectureship, Stanford University
• 2017- Elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ^[14] Newcomer Lectureship- UCLA, Lifetime Achievement Award- Manchester UK
• 2018- Named Irma Gigli Endowed Chair of Dermatology, UCSD
• 2019- NIH MERIT award
• 2022- Rothman Award, Society for Investigative Dermatology
• 2022- David Martin Carter Award, American Skin Association ^[15]
• 2023- Van Scott Lectureship and Frost Award, American Academy of Dermatology
• 2023- Elected to the National Academy of Medicine ^{[16] [17]}
• 2024-Elected Fellow of Royal College of Physicians (London)

References

1. "Richard Gallo". dermatology.ucsd.edu.
2. Gallo, Richard (February 25, 2023). "Future Research Opportunities on Skin Microbiome". HCP Live (Interview).
3. "Richard Gallo, MD/PhD | 2022 SID Annual Meeting | 2022 SID Awardees".
4. Gallo RL, Ono M, Povsic T, Page C, Eriksson E, Klagsbrun M, Bernfield M (November 1994). "Syndecans, cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans, are induced by a proline-rich antimicrobial peptide from wounds". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 91 (23): 11035–9. Bibcode:1994PNAS...9111035G. doi: 10.1073/pnas.91.23.11035 . PMC   45161 . PMID   7972004.
5. Nizet V, Ohtake T, Lauth X, Trowbridge J, Rudisill J, Dorschner RA, Pestonjamasp V, Piraino J, Huttner K, Gallo RL (November 2001). "Innate antimicrobial peptide protects the skin from invasive bacterial infection". Nature. 414 (6862): 454–7. Bibcode:2001Natur.414..454N. doi:10.1038/35106587. PMID   11719807. S2CID   4413198.
6. "Cause Of Skin Condition Rosacea Discovered". Science Daily. 5 August 2007. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
7. "Oral Vitamin D May Help Prevent Some Skin Infections". ScienceDaily. October 2008.
8. "Dirt can be good for children, say scientists". BBC News. November 2009.
9. Kain D (23 November 2009). "Surface bacteria maintains skin's healthy balance". UC Newsroom. Archived from the original on 15 January 2014.
10. Ong PY, Ohtake T, Brandt C, Strickland I, Boguniewicz M, Ganz T, Gallo RL, Leung DY (October 2002). "Endogenous antimicrobial peptides and skin infections in atopic dermatitis". The New England Journal of Medicine. 347 (15): 1151–60. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa021481 . PMID   12374875.
11. Lai Y, Di Nardo A, Nakatsuji T, Leichtle A, Yang Y, Cogen AL, Wu ZR, Hooper LV, Schmidt RR, von Aulock S, Radek KA, Huang CM, Ryan AF, Gallo RL (December 2009). "Commensal bacteria regulate Toll-like receptor 3-dependent inflammation after skin injury". Nature Medicine. 15 (12): 1377–82. doi:10.1038/nm.2062. PMC   2880863 . PMID   19966777.
12. Nakatsuji T, Chen TH, Narala S, Chun KA, Two AM, Yun T, Shafiq F, Kotol PF, Bouslimani A, Melnik AV, Latif H, Kim JN, Lockhart A, Artis K, David G, Taylor P, Streib J, Dorrestein PC, Grier A, Gill SR, Zengler K, Hata TR, Leung DY, Gallo RL (February 2017). "Staphylococcus aureusand are deficient in atopic dermatitis". Science Translational Medicine. 9 (378): eaah4680. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aah4680. PMC   5600545 . PMID   28228596.
13. Nakatsuji T, Chen TH, Butcher AM, Trzoss LL, Nam SJ, Shirakawa KT, Zhou W, Oh J, Otto M, Fenical W, Gallo RL (February 2018). "Staphylococcus epidermidisprotects against skin neoplasia". Science Advances. 4 (2): eaao4502. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aao4502. PMC   5834004 . PMID   29507878.
14. "2017 AAAS Fellows Recognized for Advancing Science | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)". www.aaas.org.
15. "Press Release | American Skin Association". americanskin.org.
16. "National Academy of Medicine Elects 100 New Members". National Academy of Medicine. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
17. "UC San Diego Physician-Scientist Richard L. Gallo Elected to National Academy of Medicine". today.ucsd.edu.