Famous American Immunologists

Karl Landsteiner was a physician, biologist, and immunologist. He is credited with distinguishing the main blood groups as well as identifying the Rhesus factor. He is also credited with discovering the polio virus along with Erwin Popper and Constantin Levaditi. He won the Aronson Prize in 1926. In 1930, Landsteiner was honored with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Doctor and diplomat Deborah Birx was the Trump administration’s coronavirus response co-ordinator. The renowned HIV/AIDS researcher, however, quit the virus team after reports suggested she had attended a Thanksgiving family gathering, breaching COVID-19 protocol. She later joined the air-cleaning company ActivePure, amid reports of it using banned technology.

Hilary Koprowski was a Polish virologist and immunologist. He spent the majority of his career in USA and created an effective live polio vaccine. He also contributed significantly to the development of an improved rabies vaccine. He was the author or co-author of over 875 scientific papers. He was the recipient of many awards, including the Albert Sabin Gold Medal.

Robert Gallo is an American biomedical researcher best known for his immense contribution in ascertaining HIV as the infectious agent accountable for AIDS. He also played a major role in the progression of the HIV blood test and subsequent HIV research. He is also credited with co-founding the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

David Baltimore is an American university administrator and biologist. He is currently serving as President Emeritus at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He won the 1975 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries concerning the interaction between the genetic material of the cell and tumor viruses. In 1999, he was honored with the National Medal of Science. 

Richard M. Krause was an American physician, immunologist, and microbiologist. From 1975 to 1984, he served at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases as its director. He later served at Emory University as the dean of medicine. Richard M. Krause also worked as a professor at Rockefeller University.

American physician-scientist and immunologist Anthony Fauci serves as director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden. As research scientist and chief of NIAID, Fauci contributed in the areas of HIV/AIDS research and other immunodeficiency diseases and received Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work on the AIDS relief program PEPFAR.

Immunologist Bruce Beutler is best known for his Nobel Prize-winning research on the innate immune system of the human body. The son of a scientist and physician, he was a child prodigy and graduated at age 18. He grew up to be associated with institutes such as the Scripps Research Institute.

John Franklin Enders was an American biomedical scientist best remembered for winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1954 along with Thomas Huckle Weller and Frederick Chapman Robbins for discovering that poliomyelitis viruses have the ability to grow in cultures of different types of tissue. John Franklin Enders is often referred to as the Father of Modern Vaccines.

J. Michael Bishop is an American microbiologist and immunologist. He is best known for winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1989 along with Harold E. Varmus. They won the award for their work on retroviral oncogenes. J. Michael Bishop has also won several other prestigious awards, such as the National Medal of Science and the Dickson Prize.

Leonard Herzenberg was an American geneticist, immunologist, and professor at Stanford University. He is best remembered for his work in the field of cell biology. Over the course of his illustrious career, Leonard Herzenberg received several prestigious honours and awards, including the Kyoto Prize and the American Association of Immunologists Lifetime Achievement Award. 

A pioneer of modern immunology, Robert A. Good was partially paralysed in his younger days and completed his medical studies in a wheelchair, though he mostly recovered later. He was the man behind the first bone marrow transplant in the world. He later won the Lasker Award, among other honors.

Lloyd J. Old was an American scientist best remembered as one of the founders of the field of cancer immunology. During his lifetime, Old wrote or co-wrote over 800 research publications. He also worked as a teacher and served as a mentor for many young scientists. Lloyd J. Old was the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the President's Medal.

Avery August is a Belizean-born American scientist best known for his work in the field of immunology and T cells. In 2016, he was honored with the Ruth Kirschstein Diversity in Science award for his contributions to the field of molecular biology and biochemistry. Avery August is currently working as a professor of immunology at Cornell University.

Theron Randolph was an American physician, researcher, and allergist. He is best remembered for conducting studies on chemical sensitivities, food allergies, and preventive care. Regarded as the Father of Clinical Ecology, Theron Randolph wrote more than 300 medical articles and four books during his lifetime.

Frank J. Dixon was an American biomedical researcher who did pioneering research into diseases of the immune system that can damage other organs of the body. He is also remembered for having developed techniques to study proteins. Frank J. Dixon is also credited with co-founding the Scripps Research Institute, where he served as the director. He won several prestigious awards, including the Lasker Award.

Max Samter was a German-American immunologist best remembered for identifying the triad between aspirin allergy, asthma, and nasal polyps. Thanks to his discovery, this particular medical triad or syndrome is named after him.

William Pollack was a British-born American immunologist best remembered for developing the Rho(D) immune globulin vaccine that fights against Rh disease. His vaccine, which was introduced in 1968, eliminated cases of Rh disease in many countries. Prior to the introduction of the vaccine, Rh disease was responsible for nearly 10,000 infant deaths annually in the USA alone.

Merrill Wallace Chase was an American immunologist best remembered for discovering cell-mediated immunology. He discovered that white blood cells were important agents of the immune system. Merrill Wallace ChaCse's discoveries laid the foundation for later research that identified the role of T cells, B cells, and other kinds of white blood cells.

Eli Sercarz was an American immunologist who held academic positions at the University of California, Los Angeles between 1963 and 1997. The studies carried out by Sercarz on the B cell and T cell responses to defined determinants of lysozyme molecules influenced the thinking of numerous immunologists. Over the course of his career, Sercarz was honored with several prestigious awards, including the Nachman International Prize in Rheumatology. 

Reuben Leon Kahn was an American immunologist best remembered for his investigations of blood reactions. His investigations paved him the way to come up with an efficient test for syphilis. In 1933, Reuben Leon Kahn was honored with the prestigious Newcomb Cleveland Prize.