Flossie Wong-Staal, First scientist to clone HIV and determine the function of its genes.
After cloning the virus, she established the first genetic sequence of it, which helped to prove that HIV is the cause of AIDS, and to develop diagnostic tests and treatments.
Written by shift7, published here with permission.
In the early 1980s, thousands of people, particularly gay men, were dying from the mysterious syndrome of AIDS.¹ During that time, in Bethesda, Maryland, a young researcher named Flossie Wong-Staal was making breakthrough discoveries that would change the course of AIDS diagnosis and treatment in America and around the world.
Born in China in 1946, Flossie’s family moved to Hong Kong in 1952. In a telephone interview with shift7, Flossie explained that her father had moved to Hong Kong earlier for work after the Chinese Civil War of 1945–49, but Flossie and her mother, sister, and brother had to wait a few years until they were allowed by the Chinese Government to join their father in Hong Kong.
A naturally gifted science student, Flossie’s teachers and parents encouraged her to pursue the subject. She would be the first person in her family to obtain a college degree. Flossie explained to shift7, “My mother never went to college, but my mother is my role model. She had a very strong character, and she was very smart — she just didn’t have the opportunity. She saw I had the academic aptitude and she supported me. Even though our family was not well off, she scraped together resources to support my college education.”
At 18, Flossie moved across the world to study Bacteriology at the University of California, Los Angeles. After completing her undergraduate degree in only three years, she obtained her PhD in Molecular Biology in 1972, and did her postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Diego for one year. In 1973, Flossie joined the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Maryland — part of the National Institutes of Health. At the NCI she studied retroviruses in the 1970s. The lab in which she worked was the first to find that retroviruses exist in human disease, through the discovery of the virus HTLV1 and its association with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma. One of Flossie’s early research projects in the lab was cloning and sequencing HTLV1.²
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was a novel virus, but it was affecting T cells, and in 1983 it was established to be a retrovirus. According to the Office of NIH History, Dr. Wong-Staal began the molecular characterization of the AIDS virus in 1984.³ Her group was “the first to obtain a molecular clone of the virus and show that it depleted T cells, a result that provided strong proof that the virus caused AIDS.”⁴ It took only a few months to then establish the genetic sequence of the virus, by her account to shift7. It was published in 1984.⁵
Cloning and genetic sequencing of a virus contributes not only to figuring out the cause of disease, but also later to creating diagnostic tests and drugs for treatment. Flossie explained to shift7, “Once you identify the genes, then you can try to find ways to inhibit them, especially if they are critical for the virus.”
Flossie’s group was also “the first to describe the genetic diversity of the virus from different patients, both inter-patient and intra-patient, a finding that indicated a standard vaccine would not be possible to make.”⁶ She explained in a 1997 interview by the NIH Historical Office, “It was clear that HIV is not a single genetic entity, that there’s variation among different isolates. But what was found — and I think we’re one of the earliest, if not the earliest, group to show — is that there’s also, even from the same patient, if you look at different clones from the same patient, you can see variation as well. […] An antibody from one patient that may neutralize its own virus may not neutralize other virus isolates. But, furthermore, within the same patient, neutralizing antibody against an earlier isolate may not neutralize a later isolate, so again suggesting the drift.”⁷
A testament to the influence and importance of her research and findings, Flossie’s papers were cited more than any other female scientist in the 1980s.⁸ She said to shift7 with humility that this was likely because it was a topic of high interest, and because HIV was a new virus, there were many new discoveries. Unquestionably it was a period of prolific research genius.
Flossie continued her research on AIDS, first as the Florence Riford Chair in AIDS Research at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and later as the Director of the Center for AIDS Research and the AIDS Research Institute for the University of California system. She retired from UCSD in 2002, as Professor Emerita. She then worked for several years as Chief Scientific Officer for biotechnology company iTherX (previously Immusol), working on infectious diseases, cancer, Hepatitis C and gene therapy for HIV.”⁹ Flossie is retired now, doing occasional consulting work, and spending time with her family.
In the interview with shift7, Flossie conveyed some messages especially for readers of this article:
- Patient involvement in research makes an important difference. Advocacy from the patient group is also important, but we shouldn’t require patients to be the advocates — government officials should be the primary advocates, and should provide more funding for research and for making drugs and other treatments affordable.
- For AIDS, even though the syndrome cannot be cured yet, it’s under control because there are very good drugs for treatment. If everyone could be treated so they have a low level of the virus, this would help reduce transmission. The problem is availability of drugs — they need to be safe and affordable everywhere, particularly in developing countries.
- Women can achieve as much as men in science, or any field. Just do your best and hold your own. Be outspoken, be assertive.
More inspiration from Flossie:
You can visit Flossie’s story in person too:
- Guangzhou, Guangdong — Republic of China (birthplace)
- National Cancer Institute — Bethesda, Maryland
- University of California, San Diego
Media needs to regularly represent the innovative work of diverse individuals and teams in an empowering manner in order to shift the public mindset to one that respects that there is innovation talent in all people, including in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). Surfacing diverse talent will help empower current solution makers to learn or team up with colleagues who can create and use these tools, thereby accelerating progress on societal challenges.
