Short presentation

The Stefan S. Nicolau Institute of Virology of Bucharest (IVN) was founded in 1949, by Prof. Stefan S. Nicolau, a former student and assistant of Constantin Levaditi, the discoverer of the poliomyelitis virus. IVN is dedicated to both fundamental research and applied clinical studies in viral epidemiology, viral vaccines, viral nucleic acid infectivity, immunity in viral infections, antiviral chemotherapy.

In the last three years IVN has developed important research programs not only in the domain of viral diseases of public health relevance (AIDA, viral hepatitis, respiratory viral diseases, emerging viral diseases), but also in neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, cancer, antiviral and antitumoral therapy, with significant results in health care.

The Institute bridges the gap between clinical investigation and the application of basic science in order to understand the pathogenesis of the infectious diseases, their diagnosis and optimal management, prevention and control. Multidisciplinary groups are studying different aspects of infectious diseases> from epidemiology and field work, to patient’s care, from the relationship between the host immune response and the pathogen’s virulence factors, to molecular genetics and vaccine design.

Cross-cutting themes are addressed through cooperation with other Romanian and international research teams. Researchers involved in doctoral or post-doctoral programs are trained in IVN not only in virology, but also in related disciplines: biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology, pharmacology, immunology and informatics. IVN has been frequently visited by policy makers from European countries, serving as a model for collaborative research.

IVN is located in a three floors building situated in Bucharest down town area, close to one of the main Bucharest Infectious Diseases Hospital.

The Institute mission is to support the national strategy in combating the infectious disease by:

generating reports that increase the range, quality and relevance of the national agenda for health policy and medical practice;
testing the practical application of new diagnostic technologies in various field conditions, thereby increasing their operational relevance;
developing new antivirals and therapeutical technologies that meet the needs of health care practitioners.

For EU-funded research and innovation projects our PIC is 986262439 (http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/page/searchorg; My Organisations - Search Legal Entity: Institutul de Virusologie).