BALTIMORE, MD, November 17, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Mikulas Popovic has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Dr. Popovic is most recognized for two pivotal contributions to the field of human retrovirology. These are: (1) transmission of the Human T-cell Leukemia Virus type I (HTLV-I) and (2) development of a cell system for continuous propagation of Human Immunodeficiency Virus type I (HIV-I, commonly called HIV), the causal agent of AIDS. Prior to his transmission of HTLV-1, the existence of infectious human retroviruses remained speculative. Dr. Popovic's work unequivocally demonstrated that infectious human retroviruses do, indeed, exist. Importantly, this virus, HTLV-I, is associated with human disease. Dr. Popovic's second pivotal contribution provided the necessary foundation for large-scale production of HIV, which, in turn, enabled development of the first diagnostic test that could be used to screen patient blood samples, blood donations and human blood-derived products, for the presence of HIV. Thousands of human lives were saved as a consequence of this screening, since virus-contaminated blood products used for transfusion and to treat hemophiliacs could be identified and discarded prior to use. Large-scale production of HIV also enabled establishment of a causal link between infection with the virus and the presence of clinical symptoms associated with AIDS. Definitive identification of HIV as the etiological agent of AIDS came from large, worldwide, epidemiologic studies that required large numbers of diagnostic test kits, again based on Dr. Popovic's virus propagation system. For his crucial role in developing the life-saving HIV blood test, he earned an Inventor's Award (and patents) through the U.S. Department of Commerce.
A graduate of Comenius University and the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dr. Popovic holds both MD and PhD degrees. With research interests in retrovirology and cancer biology, he has held positions at the Cancer Research Institute at the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Slovakia, the University of Uppsala and the Karolinska Institute, both in Sweden, The National Institutes of Health in the United States (NIH), New Mexico State University, and the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM). Since 1996, Dr. Popovic has held UMSOM Professor positions at the Institute of Human Virology and in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, transitioning to an Adjunct Professor in 2010, via active retirement.
His professional affiliations have included the Czechoslovak Medical Society, the Czechoslovak Cancer Society, the American Academy of Microbiology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the New York Academy of Sciences and the Learned Society of the Czech Republic. Throughout his career, he received institutional support and grants to conduct his research. His research has been published in prestigious, high impact journals such as Nature, Science, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and The Journal of Experimental Medicine, as well as others. Dr. Popovic is among the 100 most-cited authors for the period 1981-1990. In addition to his Inventor's Award noted above, Dr. Popovic has received others, most notably, an NIH Career Achievement Award, an honorary doctorate in Medical Sciences from the Slovak Academy, Slovakia, and the Ceska Hlava ("Czech Mind"), the highest award given by the Czech Republic. Dr. Popovic's passion for science continues to propel him forward.
About Marquis Who's Who :
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America , Marquis Who's Who has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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