Sir Peter Karel, Baron Piot (born 17 February 1949) is a Belgian-British microbiologist known for his research into

Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after in ...

and

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. After helping discover the Ebola virus in 1976 and leading efforts to contain the first-ever recorded Ebola epidemic that same year, Piot became a pioneering researcher into AIDS. He has held key positions in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

involving AIDS research and management. He has also served as a professor at several universities worldwide. He is the author of 16 books and over 600 scientific articles.

Early life and education

Piot was born in Keerbergen, Belgium. His father was a civil servant who worked with agricultural exports, and his mother ran a construction company. Piot is the oldest of two brothers and a sister. After studying physics in the School of Engineering and Physics at

Ghent University Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

, Piot changed to medicine. During medical school, Piot received a Diploma in Tropical Medicine (DTM) from the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp in Antwerp. In 1974, he received an MD degree from Ghent University. In 1980, Piot received a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degree in clinical

microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

from the

University of Antwerp The University of Antwerp () is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is ''UAntwerp''. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 students, which makes it the third-largest university in Flanders. ...

Career

In 1976, while working at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Piot was part of a team that observed a Marburg-like virus in a sample of blood taken from a sick nun working in

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

. Piot and his colleagues subsequently traveled to Zaire as part of an International Commission set up by the Government of Zaire to help quell the outbreak. The International Commission made key discoveries into how the virus spread, and traveled from village to village, spreading information and putting the ill and those who had come into contact with them into quarantine. The epidemic was already waning when the International Commission arrived, thanks to measures taken by local and national authorities, and it finally stopped in three months, after it had killed almost 300 people. The events were dramatised by Mike Walker on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

in December 2014 in a production by David Morley. Piot narrated the programme. Piot has received the majority of the credit for discovering Ebola, since in 1976, it was claimed he was the one to receive blood samples while working in a lab at the Institute for Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium. The samples were once claimed to be originally sent by Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum, a Congolese doctor who obtained the blood samples from those sickened with a mysterious disease in then-Zaire, later discovered to be Ebola. In 2012, Piot published a memoir entitled ''No Time to Lose'' which chronicles his professional work, including the discovery of the Ebolavirus; he mentions Muyembe in passing rather than as a co-discoverer. In a 2016 Journal of Infectious Disease article, co-signed by most of the actors from that first outbreak, including Peter Piot and Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the claims by both Piot and Muyembe to have played a significant role in the early discovery of Ebola have been refuted. Piot stated in 2019 that "my book was not an attempt to write the history of Ebola, but more my personal experience". In the 1980s, Piot participated in collaborative projects in Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zaire. Project SIDA in Kinshasa, Zaire was the first international project on

in Africa and is widely acknowledged as having provided the foundations of science's understanding of HIV infection in Africa. He was a professor of

, and of

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

at the Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine, in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, and at the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a college, collegiate research university based in Nairobi and is the largest List of universities and colleges in Kenya, university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dat ...

, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

, and a visiting professor at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. He was also a senior fellow at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

in Seattle, a scholar in residence at the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

, and a senior fellow at the

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be the third largest charitable foundation in the world, holding $ ...

. From 1991 to 1994, Piot was president of the International AIDS Society. In 1992, he became assistant director of the

's Global Programme on HIV/AIDS. On 12 December 1994, he was appointed executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and Assistant-Secretary-General of the United Nations. From 2009 to 2010, Piot served as director of the Institute for Global Health at

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

In October 2010, Piot became the director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. In addition to his work at LSHTM, Piot is a member of the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States and the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium, a Fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians of London The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

, UK and a Fellow of the

Academy of Medical Sciences The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of the four UK National Academy, National Academies, the others being the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. Its ...

. In 2011, Amy Gutmann appointed him to serve on the International Research Panel at the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. In 2014, in the face of an unprecedented Ebola epidemic in western Africa, Piot and other scientists called for the emergency release of the experimental ZMapp vaccine for use on humans before it had undergone clinical testing on humans. That year, he was appointed by Director General Margaret Chan to the

's Advisory Group on the Ebola Virus Disease Response, co-chaired by Sam Zaramba and David L. Heymann. He also chaired an independent panel convened by Harvard Global Health Institute and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine into the national and international response to the epidemic, which sharply criticised the response of the WHO and put forward ten recommendations for the body's reorganisation. In February 2020, he criticised the delay in declaring the 2019–20 novel coronavirus outbreak focused on

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

, China, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and advocated a five-point scale for outbreaks, rather the current binary (emergency/no emergency) system. In 2020, Piot was appointed to the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

’s advisory panel on

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, co-chaired by Ursula von der Leyen and Stella Kyriakides. In the preparations for the Global Health Summit hosted by the European Commission and the G20 in May 2021, Piot co-chaired the event's High-Level Scientific Panel.

Personal life

In May 2020, Piot disclosed that he had had

. Piot is fluent in English, French, and Dutch. He is married to the American anthropologist Heidi Larson.

Other activities

* Africa Europe Foundation (AEF), Member of the Strategy Group on Health (since 2020) * Centre for International Health Protection (ZIG),

Robert Koch Institute The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is a German federal government agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention. It is located in Berlin and Wernigerode. As an upper federal agency, it is subordinate to the Federa ...

(RKI), member of the scientific advisory board (since 2020) * Exemplars in Global Health, member of the senior advisory board (since 2020) * Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), member of the board (since 2018) * ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication. The journal publishes ...

Public Health'', member of the editorial advisory board (since 2016) * Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), chair of the board of directors (since 2017) * UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR), chair of the Strategic Coherence of ODA-funded Research (since 2017) * Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF), member of the advisory panel (since 2015) * Novartis Foundation, member of the board of trustees (since 2015) * Antwerp Management School, member of the international advisory board * Centre Virchow-Villermé, member of the international advisory board * Global Health Corps, member of the board of advisors * Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT), member of the board of directors * ''

'', member of the international advisory board *

, External Member of the advisory board at the Department of Global Health * World Health Summit, member of the council

Awards

* 2003: Calderone Prize * 2004: Vlerick Award * 2008: America-Flanders Award * 2013: Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize * 2013: Prince Mahidol Award * 2015: Prix International de l’INSERM * 2015: Canada Gairdner Global Health Award * 2016: Manson Medal * 2018: Member of the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

Honours

* : ** Ennobled with the title of ''

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

'' for life in the Nobility of Belgium by King Albert II of Belgium (1995) * : ** JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 1Class BAR

Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (2018) * : ** SEN Order of the Lion - Officer BAR

Officer of the National Order of the Lion * : ** UK Order St-Michael St-George ribbon

Honorary Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(2016) **

Substantive Knight Commander of the

(2019) * : ** Officer of the National Order of the Leopard (1976)

Selected filmography

* 2002: '' Jonathan Dimbleby'' (TV series) – episode: "The AIDS Crisis in Africa" * 2006: '' Frontline'' (TV series documentary) – episode: "The Age of AIDS" * 2006: ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'' (TV series documentary) – episode: "The New Space Race/Fighting AIDS/Immortality" * 2009: ''House of Numbers: Anatomy of an Epidemic'' (Documentary) * 2014: ''Horizon: Ebola: The Search for a Cure'' (TV series documentary) * 2017: ''Heart of the Matter'' (documentary short) * 2017: ''Unseen Enemy'' (documentary)

Selected works and publications

Selected works

* *

Selected publications

* * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

Peter Piot
at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Piot, Peter 1949 births Living people Belgian barons Belgian microbiologists HIV/AIDS researchers HIV/AIDS activists Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Belgian officials of the United Nations Members of the National Academy of Medicine University of Antwerp alumni Ghent University alumni Academic staff of the University of Antwerp Academics of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Manson medal winners Physicians from Leuven Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Ebola researchers Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Senegal