Dr. Leor Weinberger is a distinguished virologist and quantitative biologist whose pioneering work has fundamentally transformed our understanding of viral dynamics and gene expression mechanisms. He currently serves as Chair of the Department of Cell Biology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, following his tenure as the William and Ute Bowes Distinguished Professor at the University of California, San Francisco and Gladstone Institutes. Leor Weinberger was born in 1975 in Toronto, Canada. He earned his BS in biology and physics from the University of Maryland and completed his PhD in biophysics at UC Berkeley as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellow. His postdoctoral training at Princeton University as a Lewis Thomas Fellow cultivated his innovative approach to viral systems biology before establishing his independent research program at UC San Diego.
Dr. Weinberger's groundbreaking discovery of the HIV latency circuit in 2005 provided the first experimental evidence that stochastic fluctuations in gene expression drive biological fate decisions, fundamentally changing our understanding of viral persistence mechanisms. His research demonstrated that HIV latency was not random but a hardwired viral program, overturning established dogma in virology and establishing a new paradigm for understanding cellular decision-making processes. Building on this foundation, he pioneered the concept of Therapeutic Interfering Particles (TIPs), which represents a revolutionary approach to antiviral therapy by creating resistance-proof viral therapeutics that exploit viral replication machinery. His demonstration of TIP efficacy against HIV in animal models in 2019 has the potential to transform the treatment of viral diseases globally, particularly in resource-limited settings where drug resistance poses significant challenges.
Dr. Weinberger's exceptional contributions have earned him recognition as the only scientist ever to receive all three prestigious NIH Director's Awards, highlighting the transformative impact of his research program. His TED talk on Therapeutic Interfering Particles received a standing ovation and has been widely recognized as a major contribution to science communication, bringing complex virological concepts to broad audiences. As a scientific leader, he serves on influential advisory panels including the Innovation Review Panel for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as reported by some professional and event profiles, helping shape global health research priorities. Currently leading his department at the University of Miami, Dr. Weinberger continues to advance his vision of developing next-generation antiviral therapies that viruses cannot easily evade, with profound implications for addressing persistent viral infections worldwide.
