Peter Piot Explained

Honorific Prefix:Professor
Sir Peter Piot
Birth Name:Peter Karel Piot
Birth Date:17 February 1949
Nationality:Belgian, British w,
Spouse:Heidi Larson
Work Institutions:London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Imperial College London
Alma Mater:Ghent University
University of Antwerp

Sir Peter Karel, Baron Piot (born 17 February 1949)[1] is a Belgian-British microbiologist known for his research into Ebola and AIDS.

After helping discover the Ebola virus in 1976 and leading efforts to contain the first-ever recorded Ebola epidemic that same year, Piot became a pioneering researcher into AIDS. He has held key positions in the United Nations and World Health Organization involving AIDS research and management. He has also served as a professor at several universities worldwide. He is the author of 16 books and over 600 scientific articles.

Early life and education

Piot was born in Keerbergen, Belgium[2] . His father was a civil servant who worked with agricultural exports, and his mother ran a construction company. Piot is the oldest of two brothers and a sister.

After studying physics in the School of Engineering and Physics at Ghent University, Piot changed to medicine. During medical school, Piot received a Diploma in Tropical Medicine (DTM) from the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp in Antwerp. In 1974, he received an MD degree from Ghent University. In 1980, Piot received a PhD degree in clinical microbiology from the University of Antwerp.[3]

Career

In 1976, while working at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Piot was part of a team that observed a Marburg-like virus in a sample of blood taken from a sick nun working in Zaire.[4] [5] Piot and his colleagues subsequently traveled to Zaire as part of an International Commission set up by the Government of Zaire to help quell the outbreak. The International Commission made key discoveries into how the virus spread, and traveled from village to village, spreading information and putting the ill and those who had come into contact with them into quarantine. The epidemic was already waning when the International Commission arrived, thanks to measures taken by local and national authorities, and it finally stopped in three months, after it had killed almost 300 people.[6] The events were dramatised by Mike Walker on BBC Radio 4 in December 2014 in a production by David Morley. Piot narrated the programme.[7]

Piot has received the majority of the credit for discovering Ebola, since in 1976, it was claimed he was the one to receive blood samples while working in a lab at the Institute for Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium. The samples were once claimed to be originally sent by Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum, a Congolese doctor who obtained the blood samples from those sickened with a mysterious disease in then-Zaire, later discovered to be Ebola. In 2012, Piot published a memoir entitled No Time to Lose which chronicles his professional work, including the discovery of the Ebolavirus; he mentions Muyembe in passing rather than as a co-discoverer.[8] In a 2016 Journal of Infectious Disease article, co-signed by most of the actors from that first outbreak, including Peter Piot and Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the claims by both Piot and Muyembe to have played a significant role in the early discovery of Ebola have been refuted.[9] Piot stated in 2019 that "my book was not an attempt to write the history of Ebola, but more my personal experience".[10]

In the 1980s, Piot participated in collaborative projects in Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zaire. Project SIDA in Kinshasa, Zaire was the first international project on AIDS in Africa and is widely acknowledged as having provided the foundations of science's understanding of HIV infection in Africa. He was a professor of microbiology, and of public health at the Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine, in Antwerp, and at the University of Nairobi, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Lausanne, and a visiting professor at the London School of Economics. He was also a senior fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle, a scholar in residence at the Ford Foundation, and a senior fellow at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

From 1991 to 1994, Piot was president of the International AIDS Society. In 1992, he became assistant director of the World Health Organization's Global Programme on HIV/AIDS. On 12 December 1994, he was appointed executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and Assistant-Secretary-General of the United Nations.[11]

From 2009 to 2010, Piot served as director of the Institute for Global Health at Imperial College London.

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

In October 2010, Piot became the director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.[12]

In addition to his work at LSHTM, Piot is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States and the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London, UK and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2011, Amy Gutmann appointed him to serve on the International Research Panel at the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.

In 2014, in the face of an unprecedented Ebola epidemic in western Africa, Piot and other scientists called for the emergency release of the experimental ZMapp vaccine for use on humans before it had undergone clinical testing on humans.[13] That year, he was appointed by Director General Margaret Chan to the World Health Organization's Advisory Group on the Ebola Virus Disease Response, co-chaired by Sam Zaramba and David L. Heymann.[14] He also chaired an independent panel convened by Harvard Global Health Institute and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine into the national and international response to the epidemic, which sharply criticised the response of the WHO and put forward ten recommendations for the body's reorganisation. In February 2020, he criticised the delay in declaring the 2019–20 novel coronavirus outbreak focused on Hubei, China, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and advocated a five-point scale for outbreaks, rather the current binary (emergency/no emergency) system.[15]

In 2020, Piot was appointed to the European Commission’s advisory panel on COVID-19, co-chaired by Ursula von der Leyen and Stella Kyriakides.[16] In the preparations for the Global Health Summit hosted by the European Commission and the G20 in May 2021, Piot co-chaired the event's High-Level Scientific Panel.[17]

Personal life

In May 2020, Piot disclosed that he had had COVID-19.[18]

Piot is fluent in English, French, and Dutch. He is married to the American anthropologist Heidi Larson.[19]

Other activities

Awards

Honours

Selected filmography

Selected works and publications

Selected works

Selected publications

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Harden. Victoria A.. Piot. Peter. In Their Own Words... NIH Researchers Recall the Early Years of AIDS: Interview with Dr. Peter Piot. National Institutes of Health. 4 January 2008.
  2. Web site: https://focusonbelgium.be/en/Do%20you%20know%20these%20Belgians/peter-piot-one-most-famous-virologists.
  3. Web site: Professor Baron Peter Piot; KCMG MD PhD DTM FRCP FFPH FMedSci. London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. en. 27 July 2017. 14 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230414162158/https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/people/piot.peter. dead.
  4. Pattyn. S.. Groen. G.vander. Jacob. W.. Piot. P.. Courteille. G.. Isolation of Marburg-like virus from a case of haemorrhagic fever in Zaire. The Lancet. March 1977. 309. 8011. 573–574. 10.1016/S0140-6736(77)92002-5. 65663. free.
  5. Piot. Peter. Bartos. Michael. Ghys. Peter D.. Walker. Neff. Schwartländer. Bernhard. The global impact of HIV/AIDS. Nature. April 2001. 410. 6831. 968–973. 10.1038/35073639. 11309626. 2001Natur.410..968P. 4373421.
  6. Members of the International Commission. Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Zaire, 1976.. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 1978. 56. 2. 271–93. 307456. 2395567.
  7. Web site: Ebola. BBC Radio 4. 18 December 2014.
  8. Book: Piot. Peter. No Time to Lose: A Life in Pursuit of Deadly Viruses. 2013. W.W. Norton. New York; London. 978-0-393-08411-5. 916025971.
  9. Breman. Joel G.. Heymann. David L.. Lloyd. Graham. McCormick. Joseph B.. Miatudila. Malonga. Murphy. Frederick A.. Muyembé-Tamfun. Jean-Jacques. Piot. Peter. Ruppol. Jean-François. Sureau. Pierre. van der Groen. Guido. Johnson. Karl M.. Discovery and Description of Ebola Zaire Virus in 1976 and Relevance to the West African Epidemic During 2013–2016. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 15 October 2016. 214. suppl 3. S93–S101. 10.1093/INFDIS/JIW207. 27357339. 5050466.
  10. News: Peralta. Eyder. This Congolese Doctor Discovered Ebola But Never Got Credit For It — Until Now. NPR. 4 November 2019.
  11. Shetty. Priya. Peter Piot. The Lancet. June 2008. 371. 9628. 1907. 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60820-X. 18539213. 205951166. free.
  12. Web site: Harden. Victoria A.. Piot. Peter. In Their Own Words... NIH Researchers Recall the Early Years of AIDS: Dr Peter Piot Interview 3 – June 16, 2010. National Institutes of Health. 16 June 2010.
  13. News: Dixon. Robyn. Robyn Dixon (journalist). 6 August 2014. Three leading Ebola experts call for release of experimental drug. Los Angeles Times. Johannesburg.
  14. Web site: Members of the WHO Advisory Group on the Ebola Virus Disease Response. https://web.archive.org/web/20141128154756/http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/advisory-groups/members/en/. dead. 28 November 2014. World Health Organization. September 2015.
  15. Coronavirus – will it become a pandemic? (LSHTM Viral S1E5). 06:34–07:56. Peter Piot, James Barr. London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. 7 February 2020. 9 February 2010 .
  16. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_481 COVID-19: Commission launches European team of scientific experts to strengthen EU coordination and medical response
  17. https://global-health-summit.europa.eu/panel-scientific-experts_en Global Health Summit: Panel of Scientific Experts
  18. News: Draulans. Dirk. 'Finally, a virus got me.' Scientist who fought Ebola and HIV reflects on facing death from COVID-19. Science: AAAS. 8 May 2020. en.
  19. Web site: October 3, 2014. Peter Piot – Out to stop the Ebola virus he found. September 29, 2018. Financial Times.
  20. https://www.friendsofeurope.org/initiatives/africa-europe-foundation?person-aea=141#strategy-groups Strategy Group on Health
  21. https://www.rki.de/EN/Content/Institute/Committees/SAB_ZIG/SAB_ZIG_Members.html Scientific Advisory Board of the Centre for International Health Protection (ZIG)
  22. https://www.exemplars.health/learn-more/about Senior Advisory Board
  23. https://cepi.net/about/whoweare/ Board
  24. https://cepi.net/news_cepi/cepi-announces-new-permanent-board/ CEPI announces new permanent board
  25. https://www.thelancet.com/lanpub/editorial-advisory-board Editorial Advisory Board
  26. https://www.ahri.org/structure-governance/ Governance
  27. https://www.ahri.org/olive-shisana-peter-piot-appointed-africa-health-research-institute-board/ Olive Shisana and Peter Piot appointed to Africa Health Research Institute Board
  28. https://www.ukcdr.org.uk/about-us/our-governance/ Strategic Coherence of ODA-funded Research
  29. https://www.ukcdr.org.uk/news-article/announcing-the-chair-of-the-new-hmg-scor-board/ Announcing the Chair of the new HMG SCOR Board
  30. http://www.africaresearchexcellencefund.org.uk/about-us/our-governance/our-advisory-panel/ Advisory Panel
  31. https://www.novartisfoundation.org/about-us/board-trustees Board of Trustees
  32. https://www.novartis.com/news/media-releases/novartis-foundation-confirms-new-members-its-board-trustees-including-new-chairman-dr-joerg-reinhardt Novartis Foundation confirms new members of its Board of trustees, including new Chairman Dr. Joerg Reinhardt
  33. https://www.antwerpmanagementschool.be/en/about/international-advisory-board International Advisory Board
  34. https://virchowvillerme.eu/international-advisory-board-2/ International Advisory Board
  35. https://ghcorps.org/why-were-here/board-members/ Board of Advisors
  36. https://www.ghitfund.org/leadership/boardofdirectors Board of Directors
  37. https://www.thelancet.com/lancet/international-advisory-board International Advisory Board
  38. https://globalhealth.washington.edu/peter-piot Peter Piot
  39. https://www.worldhealthsummit.org/about-whs/leadership.html Council
  40. Web site: Past Recipients. Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. 8 September 2018. 17 October 2018.
  41. Web site: Flanders-America Awards for Peter Piot and Bruyneel/Armstrong duo. Flanders-America Awards voor Peter Piot en duo Bruyneel/Armstrong. Het Nieuwsblad Mobile. 25 February 2009. nl. 17 October 2018.
  42. News: Osaki. Tomohiro. Belgian, Ugandan win Noguchi prize. The Japan Times Online. 2 June 2013. 17 October 2018.
  43. Holmes. David. 2013 Prince Mahidol Award winners announced. The Lancet. 382. 9908. 2013. 0140-6736. 10.1016/s0140-6736(13)62349-1. 24325009. 1869. 42253188. free.
  44. Web site: histoire. Peter Piot, Prix International 2015 / Histoire de l'Inserm. Histoire de l'Inserm. fr. 17 October 2018. 27 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210527090133/https://histoire.inserm.fr/de-l-inh-a-l-inserm/les-prix-inserm/prix-2015/peter-piot-prix-international-2015. dead.
  45. Maurice. John. Peter Piot wins 2015 Canada Gairdner Global Health Award. The Lancet. 385. 9974. 2015. 0140-6736. 10.1016/s0140-6736(15)60610-9. 25819690. 1170. 9672382.
  46. Web site: Previous medal winners. Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 6 August 2014. 17 October 2018. 23 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170123204106/http://rstmh.org/awards/previous-medal-winners. dead.
  47. Web site: Peter Piot . German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina . 26 May 2021.
  48. Web site: Honorary awards.
  49. Web site: Honours and Awards | the Gazette.

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