Paul Duprex

Ebola spurs creation of Japan’s first maximum-security biolab

August 13, 2015

Nature Paul Duprex, School of Medicine, NEIDL Japan is set to join an elite and dangerous club with its decision to upgrade an existing infectious-disease lab to handle the most hazardous pathogens… Expert quote: “It was odd that a global player in science and a highly developed industrialized country such as Japan has not had […]

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Feds propose adding H5N1 to HHS select agent list

July 17, 2015

CIDRAP Paul Duprex, School of Medicine, NEIDL The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday unveiled a proposal to add certain H5N1 influenza viruses to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) select agent list and to designate ones that are modified to be more transmissible in mammals to the category that […]

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Study points to years-long immune system woes from measles

May 7, 2015

Los Angeles Times Paul Duprex, School of Medicine Scientists have known for decades that having measles suppresses kids’ immune systems for several weeks or months, leaving them ill-equipped to fight off pneumonia, bronchitis, diarrheal diseases and other infections… Expert quote: “After the introduction of the vaccine that didn’t happen. Measles is not a disease that […]

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The Risks of Viral Research

December 28, 2014

The New Yorker Paul Duprex, School of Medicine, NEIDL In 1967, William H. Stewart, the Surgeon General, travelled to the White House to deliver one of the most encouraging messages ever spoken by American public-health official… Expert quote: “Virologists will be deprived of a powerful tool of human inquiry if they are unable to perform […]

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Scientists Fight For Superbug Research As U.S. Pauses Funding

October 23, 2014

NPR “Shots Blog” Paul Duprex, School of Medicine, NEIDL An unusual government moratorium aimed at controversial research with high-risk viruses has halted important public health research, scientists told an advisory committee to the federal government on Wednesday… Expert quote: “They have outlined a time-restricted process for consultation. That’s good for the people who are vested […]

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Updated: U.S. halts funding for new risky virus studies, calls for voluntary moratorium

October 18, 2014

Science Magazine Paul Duprex, School of Medicine, NEIDL The White House today stepped into an ongoing debate about controversial virus experiments with a startling announcement: It is halting all federal funding for so-called gain-of-function (GOF) studies that alter a pathogen to make it more transmissible or deadly so that experts can work out a U.S. government-wide […]

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CDC: Ebola could infect 1.4 million in West Africa by end of January if trends continue

September 23, 2014

Washington Post Paul Duprex, School of Medicine, NEIDL The Ebola epidemic in West Africa, already ghastly, could get worse by orders of magnitude, killing hundreds of thousands of people and embedding itself in the human population for years to come, according to two worst-case scenarios from scientists studying the historic outbreak… Expert quote: “We need […]

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Paul leading the fight against killer viruses

August 26, 2014

Lurgan Mail Paul Duprex, School of Medicine, NEIDL Paul Duprex is making waves across the pond as a virus-taming scientist, having started his journey in King’s Park Primary School. The Lurgan native is currently an associate professor at Boston University, USA, where he is conducting research on viruses, following a life-long fascination with science… View full article […]

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Biologists Choose Sides In Safety Debate Over Lab-Made Pathogens

August 13, 2014

NPR “Morning Edition” Paul Duprex, School of Medicine A smoldering debate about whether or not researchers should ever deliberately create superflu strains and other risky germs in the interest of science has flared once again… Expert quote: “These viruses are out there; they cause disease, they have killed many, many people in the past. We […]

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