Baric's work involves coronaviruses, including gain of function research aimed at devising effective vaccines against coronaviruses.[1] Baric has warned of emerging coronaviruses presenting as a significant threat to global health, due to zoonosis.[2][3] Baric's work has drawn criticism from some scientists and members of the public related to chimeric virus experiments conducted at UNC-Chapel Hill.[4]
Career
Baric has published multiple articles and book chapters on the epidemiology and genetics of various viruses, including norovirus,[5][6][7] and coronaviruses,[8][9] as well as potential treatments for viral diseases.[10][11]
In 2015, with Shi Zhengli of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, he published an article titled "A SARS-like cluster of circulating bat coronaviruses shows potential for human emergence," which describes their work in generating and characterizing a chimeric virus which added the spike of a bat coronavirus (SHC014) onto the backbone of a mouse-adapted SARS-CoV (rMA15).[12] The research related to this article drew criticism from other scientists due to fears that the SHC014-rMA15 chimeric virus could have pandemic potential.[13] This concern was renewed and echoed by members of the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] Experts have noted that the virus was adapted to a mouse model and had decreasedvirulence in human tissues.[15] The chimeric virus was also less virulent than the wild type rMA15 virus, as is expected in most chimeras.[15]
In 2020, Baric contributed to establishing the official nomenclature and taxonomic classification of SARS-CoV-2.[16] In 2021, he was elected member of the U. S. National Academy of Sciences.[17]
^Teunis, Peter F.M.; Moe, Christine L.; Liu, Pengbo; E. Miller, Sara; Lindesmith, Lisa; Baric, Ralph S.; Le Pendu, Jacques; Calderon, Rebecca L. (2008). "Norwalk virus: How infectious is it?". Journal of Medical Virology. 80 (8). Wiley: 1468–1476. doi:10.1002/jmv.21237. ISSN0146-6615. PMID18551613. S2CID35718373.
^"News from the National Academy of Sciences". April 26, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021. Newly elected members and their affiliations at the time of election are: ... Baric, Ralph S.; William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor, department of epidemiology, and professor, department of microbiology and immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, entry in member directory:"Member Directory: Ralph S. Baric". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2021-11-27.