Lawrence Corey

Education and career

Corey received a B.A. and M.D. from the University of Michigan, and received postgraduate training at the University of Michigan, University of Washington, and the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the early 1980s Corey worked with Nobel Prize-winning biochemist and pharmacologist Dr. Gertrude Elion to demonstrate that an antiviral that was selective and specific for a viral-specified enzyme could be safely and effectively administered to control a chronic viral infection (herpes simplex virus-2). These studies were directly responsible for the subsequent successful quest of the pharmaceutical and medical sciences communities to develop effective antiviral therapy for hepatitis B and HIV.

In 1987 Corey directed the AIDS Clinical Trials Group, or ACTG, which conducted pivotal clinical trials confirming the use of the antiretroviral drug AZT to reduce maternal-fetal transmission of HIV and the usefulness of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). His research group was the first to identify an association between the virus that causes genital herpes (herpes simplex virus) and HIV. Through the ACTG he also was the first to lead the integration of community members into clinical research activities.

In the mid-1990s, Corey increasingly focused his work in the area of vaccine development, and in 1998 worked with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop a global clinical trials group to speed the development of HIV vaccines. In 2002, Corey became the major driver in conceiving of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise. The Enterprise is one of the few scientific programs that is overseen by leaders of the major industrialized countries of the world.

In July 2008, Dr. Corey co-founded the biotechnology company Immune Design, to develop vaccines built on emerging understanding of the human immune system. The Company's additional founders include Dr. David Baltimore, Nobel Laureate, former president of Caltech, and a leading immunologist; Dr. Steven Reed, founder of the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI), Dr. Lili Yang of Caltech, and Dr. Pin Wang of University of Southern California. On July 30, 2010, Dr Corey was named the fourth president of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

One of Corey’s major scientific initiatives has been to study and develop better therapy for the treatment and prevention of infectious disease associated cancers such as Kaposi sarcoma and Burkitt lymphoma In the mid 2000s, that led Corey to launch a partnership between Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Uganda Cancer Institute. In May 2015, that partnership led to the opening of the first comprehensive cancer center jointly constructed by U.S. and African institutions in sub-Saharan Africa. Corey also was a cofounder of Juno Therapeutics, a company devoted to using genetically engineered T cells to fight cancer.

Corey started his career at the University of Washington, became a full professor at the institution at age 37 and is currently holder of the Lawrence Corey Endowed Chair in Medical Virology at the University of Washington. In 2008, he was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He has authored 12 books and more than 690 scientific publications. He has been a member of numerous scientific committees and editorial boards, having served on the Board of Counselors for both the National Cancer Institute and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Research

Corey’s early research dealt with herpes simplex viruses and he headed several landmark studies defining the disease and leading the licensure of acyclovir and valacyclovir for its treatment. This included a study to reduce acquisition among sexual partners.

More recently, his research group has shown the importance of the mucosal immune system in controlling HSV reactivation, leading to current momentum to try to develop novel vaccines for genital herpes. Between 1988 and 1998, Corey published a series of key studies showing the association between infection with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) and HIV-1

These studies led to pilot and large sale clinical trials of anti-HSV-2 therapy to reduce HIV acquisition and transmission Corey also published landmark papers showing the effectiveness of acyclovir in the treatment of genital herpes,

He broadened his work when he moved his laboratory to Fred Hutch to improve the diagnosis and therapy of infections in patients with cancer. Corey worked on developing tests to detect the Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus and respiratory diseases — infections that can cause life-threatening risks to transplant patients with compromised immune systems. A study by Fred Hutch researchers determined this collective work has increased long-term survival rates for transplant patients by 41 percent.

Corey has been a central figure in the field of HIV vaccine development. The Fred Hutch-based HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) now includes investigators on five continents spanning more than 30 cities and is leading the research for phase 1-3 clinical trials of candidate HIV vaccines globally. In 2016, large-scale trials of candidate vaccines will be performed in the U.S., South America and sub-Saharan Africa. On Dec. 1, 2015 the work of Corey and HTVN scientists pursuing a vaccine to potentially halt HIV and AIDS will be highlighted in an HBO/VICE special report titled "Countdown to Zero."

Honors

Corey is a member of the editorial board of the New England Journal of Medicine. He is a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and a member of the American Epidemiological Society, American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Association of American Physicians. In addition, he is the recipient of the Pan American Society’s Clinical Virology Award, the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association's Parran Award, and the University of Michigan Medical School’s Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Selected works

Corey L, Gilbert PB, Tomaras GD, Haynes BF, Pantaleo G, Fauci AS (2015). Immune correlates of vaccine protection against HIV-1 acquisition. Science translational medicine. 7(310):310rv7

Zhu J, Hladik F, Woodward A, Klock A, Peng T, Johnston C, Remington M, Magaret A, Koelle DM, Wald A, Corey L. Persistence of HIV-1 receptor-positive cells after HSV-2 reactivation is a potential mechanism for increased HIV-1 acquisition. Nat Med. 2009 Aug; 15(8):886-92. PMC 2723183

Posavad CM, Remington M, Mueller DE, Zhao L, Magaret AS, Wald A, Corey L. Detailed characterization of T cell responses to herpes simplex virus-2 in immune seronegative persons. J Immunol. 2010 Mar 15;184(6):3250-9. PMC 2877513

Schiffer JT, Abu-Raddad L, Mark KE, Zhu J, Selke S, Koelle DM, Wald A, Corey L. Mucosal host immune response predicts the severity and duration of herpes simplex virus-2 genital tract shedding episodes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Nov 2;107(44):18973-8. PMC 2973882

Chapuis A, Casper C, Kuntz S, Zhu J, Tjernlund A, Diem K, Turtle C, Cigal M, Velez R, Riddell SR, Corey L, Greenberg PD. HIV-specific CD8+ T-cells from HIV+ individuals receiving HAART can be expanded ex vivo to augment systemic and mucosal immunity in vivo. Blood. 2011 May19;117(20):5391-5402. PMC 3109713

Zhu J, Peng T, Johnston C, Phasouk K, Kask AS, Klock A, Jin L, Diem K, Koelle DM, Wald A, Robins H, Corey L. Immune surveillance by CD8αα+ skin-resident T cells in human herpes virus infection. Nature. 2013 May 23;497(7450):494-7. PMC 3663925

Hammer SM, Sobieszczyk ME, Janes H, Karuna ST, Mulligan MJ, Grove D, Koblin BA, Buchbinder SP, Keefer MC, Tomaras GD, Frahm N, Hural J, Anude C, Graham BS, Enama ME, Adams E, Dejesus E, Novak RM, Frank I, Bentley C, Ramirez S, Fu R, Koup RA, Mascola JR, Nabel GJ, Montefiori DC, Kublin J, McElrath MJ, Corey L, Gilbert PB; the HVTN 505 Study Team. Efficacy Trial of a DNA/rAd5 HIV-1 Preventive Vaccine. N Engl J Med. 2013 Nov 28;369(22):2083-92.

Wald A, Corey L, Timmler B, Magaret A, Warren T, Tyring S, Johnston C, Kriesel J, Fife K, Galitz L, Stoelben S, Huang M-L, Selke S, Stobernack H-P, Ruebsamen-Schaeff H and Birkmann A. Helicase-Primase Inhibitor Pritelivir for HSV-2 infection. N Eng J Med 2014 Jan 16;370(3):201-10.

Jin X, Morgan C, Yu X, DeRosa S, Tomaras GD, Montefiori DC, Kublin J, Corey L, Keefer MC; NIAID HIV Vaccine Trials Network. Multiple factors affect immunogenicity of DNA plasmid HIV vaccines in human clinical trials. Vaccine. 2015 May 11;33(20):2347-53.

Diem K, Magaret A, Klock A, Jin L, Zhu J, Corey L. Image analysis for accurately counting CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in human tissue. J Virol Methods. 2015 Sep 15;222:117-21.

Janes H, Herbeck JT, Tovanabutra S, Thomas R, Frahm N, Duerr A, Hural J, Corey L, Self SG, Buchbinder SP et al. (2015). HIV-1 infections with multiple founders are associated with higher viral loads than infections with single founders. Nature medicine.

Corey L, McElrath MJ. (2010). HIV vaccines: mosaic approach to virus diversity.. Nature medicine. 16(3):268-70.

Lazaro CA, Chang M, Tang W, Campbell J, Sullivan DG, Gretch DR, Corey L, Coombs RW (2007) Hepatitis C virus replication in transfected and serum-infected cultured human fetal hepatocytes, The American Journal of Pathology, 170 (478-489).

Zerr DM, Meier AS, Selke SS, Frenkel LM, Huang ML, Wald A, Rhoads M, Nguy L, Bornemann R, Morrow RA, Corey L (2005) A population-based study of primary human herpesvirus 6 infection, The New England Journal of Medicine, 352, 768-776.

Klausner RD, Fauci AS, Corey L, Nabel GJ, Gayle H, Berkley S, Haynes BF, Baltimore D, Collins C, Douglas RG, Esparza J, Francis DP, Ganguly NK, Gerberding JL, Johnston MI, Kazatchkine MD, McMichael AJ, Makgoba MW, Pantaleo G, Piot P, Shao Y, Tramont E, Varmus H, Wasserheit JN (2003) The need for a global HIV vaccine enterprise, Science, 300, 2036-2039.

Wald A, Langenberg AGM, Link K, Izu A, Ashley R, Warren T, Tyring S, Douglas JM, Corey L (2001) Effect of condoms on reducing the transmission of herpes simplex virus type-2 from men to women, JAMA, 285, 3100-3106

Wald A, Zeh J, Selke S, Warren T, Ryncarz AJ, Ashley R, Krieger JN, Corey L (2000) Reactivation of genital herpes simplex virus type 2 infection in asymptomatic seropositive persons, The New England Journal of Medicine, 342(12), 844-50

McElrath M J, Corey L, Greenberg P D, Matthews T J, Montefiori D C, Rowen L, Hood L, Mullins JI (1996). Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection despite prior immunization with a recombinant envelope vaccine regimen, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), 93(9), 3972-7.