His primary schooling consisted of Greek and Latin and very little modern science.[4] He later developed his interest in science at the University of Vienna, where he received his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1969 and his M.S. in pharmacy in 1970. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology from 1970 until 1971 when he joined the Department of Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai as an assistant professor.[1][5]
Research
Palese's research covers RNA-containing viruses with a particular focus on influenza viruses/vaccines.[6]
When viruses infect cells, they respond with antiviral interferons -- Palese and Adolfo García-Sastre showed that most negative-strand RNA viruses counteract that antiviral response with protein antagonists to interferons. His work on "fundamental questions concerning the genetic make-up and biology of viruses" and virus-host interactions "uses molecular biological techniques to understand how viruses replicate and how they interact with cells to cause disease in their hosts", with emphasis on "the study of RNA viruses, including influenza, paramyxo and corona (SARS) viruses".[1][9] He developed a new animal model (the guinea pig) for studying the transmission of influenza viruses.[10] Palese has been involved in developing novel vaccines against influenza viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. Several of these vaccine approaches have been in human trials. Also, an anti-cancer vaccine based on a Newcastle disease virus vector has been tested in humans.
As of 2022, Palese and his team are working on creating a universal influenza virus vaccine, and SARS-CoV-2, specifically for low and middle-income countries.[11]
Patents
Palese is named on 73 patents on Pubchem. As of 2023, recent patents include:
NAME
DATE GRANTED
PATENT NUMBER
Anti-Influenza B Virus Neuraminidase Antibodies And Uses Thereof
Palese, P., Roizman, B., eds. Genetic Engineering of Viruses and Viral Vectors. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences; 1997.[26]
Basler, C., Palese, P. Modulation of Innate Immunity by Filoviruses. In: Klenk, H., Feldmann, H., eds. Ebola and Marburg Viruses, Molecular and Cellular Biology. Chap 11. Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK: BIOS Scientific Publishers; 2004:305-50. ISBN0954523237
Palese, P., ed. Modulation of Host Gene Expression and Innate Immunity by Viruses. The Netherlands: Springer; 2005. ISBN1402032412
Taubenberger, J.K., Palese, P. The Origin and Virulence of the 1918 Spanish Influenza Virus. In: Kawaoka, Y., ed. Influenza Virology Current Topics. Wymondham, UK: Caister Academic Press; 2006. ISBN978-1-904455-06-6
Shaw, M.L. and Palese, P. Orthomyxoviruses: Molecular Biology. In: Mahy, B.W.J. and Van Regenmortel, M.H.V., eds. Encyclopedia of Virology, 3rd ed. Oxford: Elsevier; 2008:483-489. ISBN0123739357
Kopecky-Bromberg, S.A., Palese, P. Recombinant Vectors as Influenza Vaccines. In: Compans, R.W., Orenstein, W.A., eds. Vaccines for Pandemic Influenza. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg; 2009:243-268. ISBN978-3-540-92164-6
Pica, N., Palese, P. and Steel, J. Live Attenuated Influenza Virus Vaccines: NS1 Truncation as an Approach to Virus Attenuation. In: Dormitzer, P.R., Mandl, C.W. and Rappuoli, R., eds. Replicating Vaccines. Basel: Springer; 2011:195-221. ISBN3034602766
Pica, N. and Palese, P. Toward a Universal Influenza Virus Vaccine: Prospects and Challenges. In: Annual Review of Medicine. 2013:15-28.[27]
Palese, P. Influenza and Its Viruses. In: Engleberg, N.C., DiRita, V., Dermody, T.S., eds. Schaechter’s Mechanisms of Microbial Disease, 5th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2013: chapter 36. ISBN978-0-7817-8744-4
Krammer, F. and Palese, P. Orthomyxoviridae: The Viruses and their Replication. In: Knipe, D.M., Howley, P.M. et al., eds. Fields Virology, 7th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer; 2021. ISBN978-1-9751-1254-7
Articles
According to Scinapse, as of 2023, Palese has an h-Index of 123, 506 publications and 52,000 citations.[28]
Buonagurio, D. A.; Nakada, S.; Parvin, J. D.; Krystal, M.; Palese, P.; Fitch, W. M. (1986). "Evolution of human influenza a viruses over 50 years: Rapid, uniform rate of change in NS gene". Science. 232 (4753): 980–982. Bibcode:1986Sci...232..980B. doi:10.1126/science.2939560. PMID2939560.
Luytjes, W.; Krystal, M.; Enami, M.; Parvin, J. D.; Palese, P. (1989). "Amplification, expression, and packaging of foreign gene by influenza virus". Cell. 59 (6): 1107–1113. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(89)90766-6. PMID2598262. S2CID251545.
TWiV 396: Influenza viruses with Peter Palese, July 3, 2016. Interview with Vincent Racaniello on his career in virology, from early work on neuraminidases to universal influenza virus vaccines.