Ph.D. Gary Kobinger

Gary Kobinger obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Montreal in 1998 before completing a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. In March 2005, Gary was recruited by the Public Health Agency of Canada where he was from 2008 to 2016 the Chief of the Special Pathogens Biosafety Level 4 program at the National Microbiology Laboratory. He is now professor and the Director of the Infectious Disease Research Centre at the Université Laval and has an appointment of associate professor at the University of Manitoba and adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Gary has been granted several awards including the Faculty Teaching Award from the University of Manitoba, the 2014 Gully award, the 2015 scientists of the year award from Radio Canada (CBC), the Order of Manitoba and the Meritorious Service Cross (civil division) of the Governor General of Canada in 2016, the Manning principal award in 2017 and the Governor General of Canada Innovation award in 2018. Gary has co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts, and has participated to many advisory boards to academic, national and international funding agencies, departments of national defenses, and the World Health Organization (WHO) concerning research on high consequence pathogens and the development of new public health policies and recommendations. His work presently focuses on developing and testing new vaccine platforms and immune treatments against pathogens of high consequences to global public health.

In 2013-2017, 60 minutes, National Geographic, BBC Horizon, NOVA, France 2, PBS, CBC, RC and others featured the leading work on successful treatment of Ebola infection that was developed by Gary and his team and the VSV-based Ebola vaccine to which he has also contributed to bringing to clinical trials.