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Microbial ‘Indiana Jones’ spreads wisdom on viruses at Stambaugh
YOUNGSTOWN
Remember that Dallas health care worker, diagnosed with Ebola, who visited her family in Akron a year ago? Or how a highly pathogenic avian influenza prevented poultry and waterfowl from attending the Canfield Fair?
“This is something we’re following closely,” said Nathan Wolfe, a renowned virologist.
He brought his insight into the world of viruses to hundreds of people who attended a lecture at Stambaugh Auditorium on Thursday night. Originally from Detroit, Wolfe is a professor of human biology at Stanford University in California, and founder and chief executive officer of Metabiota, a for-profit company that specializes in microbiological research, products and services. He also is chairman of Global Viral, a nonprofit that promotes understanding, exploration and stewardship of the microbial world.
He’s been called the “‘Indiana Jones’ of virus hunting,” said YSU President Jim Tressel in his introduction of Wolfe on Thursday night.
But Wolfe doesn’t think much of the comparison to the classic 1980s film character, portrayed by Harrison Ford, who goes on romanticized adventures as an archaeologist. He said in reality, his work is less adventurous on a day-to-day basis, but he hopes it will spur interest in the field of microbiology.
He has gained recognition for his work: He has been named one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World,” by Time magazine; a Rolling Stone “100 Agents of Change”; and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer.
He has received more than $60 million in grants and contracts from organizations, including Google, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Much of his time is devoted to his businesses and little on teaching, Wolfe says, but he noted he enjoys the “opportunity to engage academically” when he speaks about four to five times per year throughout the country.
“I think it’s very important for the next generation of scientists to get into microbiology,” he said.
This is his first time visiting Youngstown.
During the lecture, Wolfe touched on topics such as HIV and how its origins trace back to chimpanzees before infecting humans, before the Great Depression.
The event was part of the Youngstown State University Skeggs Lecture series, which was established in 1966 in memory of Leonard T. Skeggs Sr., one of YSU’s founders, by the Skeggs Foundation. Wolfe admitted to the audience he’s a little intimidated to be succeeding other renowned scientists who lectured in the series, such as pioneering primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall and James Watson, co-winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine.
But the virologist was able to bring some humor to his presentation, despite some technical difficulties during his presentation. He asked audience members how kissing a pet dog is an example of cross-species transmission of microbes that are alien to the human body.
“I’m not telling you to not kiss your dog,” he said. “[But] I’m not encouraging you to kiss your dog.”
Some audience members were interested in what Wolfe had to say and were hungry for more information.
“He probably knows so much more,” said Laura Sullivan of the city’s West Side. “He kept it in general terms.”