Prof. Lawrence Banks received his Degree in Science in 1981 and his PhD in Microbiology from Leeds University, UK in 1984. His term as Director-General of the ICGEB commenced on 1 July, 2019. Scientific Coordinator of the ICGEB, 2016-2019, he has been Group Leader of the Tumour Virology Laboratory at ICGEB Trieste, Italy since 1990. From 1988 to 1990 he was an independent Research Scientist at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in London, UK and in 1984-1988, Post-doctoral Fellow at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London, UK.
He is the Editor of the Journal of Virology, FEBS Journal, Papillomavirus Research, PLoS One, Frontiers Cellular Infection and Microbiology and is on the Editorial Boards of Antiviral Therapy, Virus Research and Biological Chemistry. Since 2017, he has been running Awareness Workshops in Academic Institutions across the ICGEB constituency and has organised over 15 major international workshops on Human Papillomavirus, Molecular Biology of Leishmania and DNA Tumor Viruses.
He has served on Grant Review and PhD Examination Committees of numerous scientific organisations in Italy and abroad, including the Human Frontiers Science Program, DKFZ, and WHO IARC, and is Research Degree Coordinator in Italy for the Open University UK. His current research interest focuses on Human Papillomaviruses (HPVs), the causative agents of a number of human tumours, including cervical cancer, which is a major cause of cancer-related death in women in many parts of the developing world.
He has published over 220 papers in peer-reviewed, international journals.