Faculty

William A. Blattner, M.D. Associate Director of the IHV Director of the Epidemiology and Prevention Division wblattner@ihv.umaryland.edu Profile Publications Profile The Institute of Human Virology was co-founded by Dr. William A. Blattner MD, director of the IHV's Epidemiology and Prevention Division and an internationally renowned authority on AIDS and the viral epidemiology of cancer.

Since 1980, Dr. Blattner has pioneered studies of the epidemiology and prevention of the human retroviruses, HIV and HTLV.

Dr. Blattner’s research employs broad-based population and clinical research strategies to advance understanding of HIV pathogenesis, risk factors and prevention, focusing on HIV preventative vaccines. He is director and Principal Investigator for the IHV HIV Vaccine Trials Unit.

His early studies helped to define the link of HIV to AIDS and its modes of transmission and the first peer-reviewed publication of the sensitivity and specificity of the HIV blood test. He is senior author on the first paper demonstrating time to AIDS from infection illustrating its high attack rate in the absence of treatment. He received the John Snow Award of the American Health Association in 2002 for his pioneering research.

Dr. Blattner’s work today focuses on accelerating the testing of HIV vaccine candidates and developing cohorts suitable for efficacy trials. His pathogenesis research focus continues in studies of acute infection and in estimates of HIV incidence in target populations. Focusing on Nigeria in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control, he is playing a key role in developing capacity for implementing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief by supporting laboratory capacity building, training of providers and developing implementation structures to insure that antiviral therapy is delivered optimally to avoid the development of drug resistance.

As Chairman of the Baltimore AIDS Commission, Dr. Blattner is working in Baltimore to raise public awareness of the scope of the epidemic and the importance of preventative vaccines. He oversees an international training program funded by the Fogarty Center of the National Institutes of Health to train scientists and clinicians from the Caribbean, Nigeria and Mali.

Dr. Blattner graduated from Washington University School of Medicine, interned at Strong Memorial Hospital, completed residencies at the New York Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute and did his oncology training at NCI in Bethesda. He joined the Environmental Epidemiology Branch of NCI in 1976 and served for over two decades, retiring in 1995 as founding Chief of the Viral Epidemiology Branch.

Recent Publications

1. Blattner WA, Ann Oursler K, Cleghorn F, Charurat M, Sill A, Bartholomew C, Jack N, O'Brien T, Edwards J, Tomaras G, Weinhold K, Greenberg M. Rapid Clearance of Virus after Acute HIV-1 Infection: Correlates of Risk of AIDS. J Infect Dis. 2004 May 15;189(10):1793-801.