Dr Ravindra Gupta, Virologist is in Time 100 Most Influential Person List 2020

Time Magazine recently published its list of 100 influential people for the year 2020, most people could easily identify names like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, actor Ayushman Khurrana, the 'dadi from Shaheen Bagh protest Bilkis, Alphabet and Google CEO Sunder Pichai. But there was one name that was distinctly Indian but did not have an immediate recall to most Indians. 

His inclusion in 100 most influential Times personalities this year is due to his landmark stem cell technique treating HIV patient. The technology may proved to be a panacea to treat various critical diseases. 

Most of his work since has focussed on antiviral therapy for treatment of HIV, and he has led a number of studies, both clinical and in vitro, aimed at addressing the global emerging threat of drug resistant HIV. Ravi also leads an active basic lab science programme at UCL, working on the cellular biology of retroviruses. This work complements his research into drug resistance by expanding our knowledge of how viruses manipulate the host environment in order to persist; this will inevitably impact response to drugs and the search for a cure. His programme of work is informed by clinical work as an infectious diseases physician in London where he has been able to study unique individuals with HIV in order to better understand viral reservoirs and immune control of HIV. Excitingly, he is currently conducting a study in collaboration with Imperial College aiming to demonstrate the world’s second HIV cure by stem cell transplantation.

Ravindra Gupta  is currently the professor of Clinical Microbiology and Wellcome Trust Senior Fellow in Clinical Science at The University of Cambridge and faculty at the Africa Health Research Institute in Durban, South Africa.

Gupta graduated with a medical degree from Cambridge University in 1997. He later received a clinical degree from Oxford University in 2001 and completed a Master in Public Health at Harvard School of Public Health (1998-1999). He subsequently trained in infectious diseases in Oxford and The Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

In March 2019, Gupta led a team demonstrating HIV remission in an HIV positive man with advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma following an 'unrelated' stem cell transplant. The person to receive this treatment was Castillejo.

In recognition of his work, last year the University of Cambridge appointed him professor of clinical microbiology at the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease.