Beatrice Hahn

Beatrice H. Hahn is an American virologist and biomedical researcher known for discovering the origins of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Early life and education

Born and raised in Munich by a physician father, Hahn was educated at the University of Munich, earning her MD in 1982.

Career and research

After graduating, Hahn began her career with a fellowship in Robert Gallo's National Cancer Institute laboratory, then joined the faculty and established her own laboratory at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. There, she began her research into the origins of HIV/AIDS and discovered that HIV originated from chimpanzees, gorillas, and sooty mangabey strains of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). Contrary to the prevailing scientific opinion, Hahn found that SIV does cause disease in its hosts and that chimpanzees represent a reservoir of HIV. She has also cloned HIV-2 and catalogued genetic variants of HIV-1 and their drug resistance.

After working at UAB, she moved to the Center for AIDS Research at the University of Pennsylvania, where she has used non-invasive fecal sampling to investigate SIV and HIV in primate populations. Her research has also included the origins of the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum; determining that P. falciparum was transmitted to humans from gorillas in a single event.

Honors and awards

• Fellow, National Academy of Medicine (2012)
• Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology