GeoVax Strengthens Scientific Staff and Expertise

ATLANTA, GA, Aug. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- . (OTCQB: GOVX), a biotechnology company developing human vaccines, today announced the strengthening of its scientific team through the addition of two PhD-level scientists.  

Mary Hauser, PhD, recently joined GeoVax as Scientist II and will contribute to the analysis of immune responses across all of the Company’s infectious disease vaccine programs, as well as help with the development of its oncology program. Dr. Hauser earned her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and most recently served as a Research Associate in the Biomedical Engineering department at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute.

Mugdha Vasireddi, PhD, recently accepted an offer to join GeoVax as Immunologist beginning in early September and will likewise play an integral role in developing the Company’s various vaccine and oncology development programs. Dr. Vasireddi earned her PhD in Viral Immunology from Georgia State University, where she most recently served as a Research Scientist in the Department of Biology and as a Licensed Clinical Laboratory Director of the National B Virus Resource Center.

Farshad Guirakhoo, PhD, GeoVax’s Chief Scientific Officer, commented, “As we continue to expand our pipeline and maintain our competitive advantage, we are very pleased that these two highly-qualified and talented individuals have joined our team. Dr. Hauser is already making her presence felt, and we look forward to Dr. Vasireddi joining us soon. The skills they bring to GeoVax in assay development, microbiology and immunology will be very important to advancing all of our vaccine candidates.”

About GeoVax

GeoVax Labs, Inc., is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing human vaccines against infectious diseases using its Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) Virus-Like Particle (VLP) vaccine platform. GeoVax was the winner of the 2018 “Best Biotech” Vaccine Industry Excellence Awards, a finalist for the 2018 “Best Prophylactic Vaccine” Award for its Zika vaccine at the World Vaccine Congress, as well as a finalist for Pipelines of Promise at Buzz of Bio 2018. The Company’s development programs are focused on vaccines against HIV, Zika, hemorrhagic fever viruses (Ebola, Sudan, Marburg, Lassa) and malaria. GeoVax also is evaluating the use of its MVA-VLP platform in cancer immunotherapy, and for therapeutic use in chronic Hepatitis B infections. GeoVax’s vaccine platform supports in vivoproduction of non-infectious VLPs from the cells of the very person receiving the vaccine. The production of VLPs in the person being vaccinated mimics virus production in a natural infection, stimulating both the humoral and cellular arms of the immune system to recognize, prevent, and control the target infection. For more information, visit .