George N. Pavlakis MD, PhD

Dr. George Pavlakis received his M.D. from the University of Athens, Greece, and his Ph.D. from Syracuse University. He has been associated with the National Cancer Institute since 1980 and is currently Chief of the Human Retrovirus Section. He has directed both basic research and clinical development projects based on his pioneering research achievements. Dr. Pavlakis has extensive research and development experience in molecular biology, virology, and immunology. He is credited with the first production of mature human hormones in mammalian cells by recombinant DNA technologies. This methodology is still in commercial production (human Growth Hormone). He continues this work by the development of new production methods and clinical application of heterodimeric IL-15 (hetIL-15), a cytokine essential for NK and T lymphocyte development and function.

Dr. Pavlakis co-developed codon/RNA optimization methods that have found wide applications in biotechnology, gene therapy protocols, and DNA vaccines. He developed DNA vaccines for HIV and showed they provide strong and long-lasting immunity. He developed strong fluorescent GFP mutants that are in wide use in biology. He studied the molecular biology, genetic organization, and expression strategy of HIV and discovered important functions of its regulatory factors Tat and Rev. He described the first transcriptional activator of oncoretroviruses, the Tax protein of HTLV-I, and the first posttranscriptional regulatory factor controlling mRNA export from the nucleus, the Rev protein of HIV-1. His studies have provided new insights into the biology of several viruses and have aided the development of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. His work has also led to the development of innovative biotechnology drugs and gene therapy procedures.

Dr. Pavlakis is a member of several professional societies, including the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the American Association of Physicians. He is a highly cited researcher, has authored more than 200 publications, and is the inventor of more than 50 US and International patents. Dr. Pavlakis retired in December 2021 and is now an NCI Scientist Emeritus.