Ellen Vitetta | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Education | Connecticut College New York University |
Occupation(s) | Professor of Microbiology and Immunology |
Known for | Director of the Cancer Immunobiology Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas |
Ellen S. Vitetta is the director of the Cancer Immunobiology Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. [1] [2]
Vitetta earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Connecticut College and advanced degrees at New York University Medical and Graduate Schools. [3]
Vitetta is a professor of microbiology and immunology, the director of the Cancer Immunobiology Center, and holds both the Sheryle Simmons Patigian Distinguished Chair in Cancer Immunobiology and a distinguished teaching chair at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. She has published 500 papers, edited several books, and is a co-inventor on 24 issued patents. She is recognized as one of the top 100 most cited biomedical scientists in the world. [3] [4]
Vitetta is an immunologist who conducts translational ("bench to bedside") research. [1] [5] Along with her colleagues, she was the first to describe IgD on the surface of murine B cells and co-discovered Interleukin-4. [1] Her research group demonstrated that IL-4 acted as a "switch" factor for Ig on B cells. Over the past two decades, she has developed antibody-based "biological missiles" to target and eliminate cancer cells and cells infected with HIV. These innovative therapeutics have been extensively studied in tissue culture, animal models, and, since 1988, in over 300 human subjects. [1] In 2001, Vitetta successfully developed a vaccine against ricin, which underwent evaluation in the first clinical trial of its kind. [6] [7]
Vitetta is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Microbiology. She was the first biomedical scientist from Texas elected to the National Academy of Sciences. [6] She is a founding member R. Franklin Society. She served as president of the American Association of Immunologists in 1994 [4] and received its Mentoring Award in 2002 and its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. [4] In 2006, she was elected to the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. She currently serves on the board of advisors of Scientists and Engineers for America, an organization focused on promoting sound science in American government.
Vitetta's former student, Linda Buck, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2004.
Scripps Research is a nonprofit American medical research facility that focuses on research and education in the biomedical sciences. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the institute has over 170 laboratories employing 2,100 scientists, technicians, graduate students, and administrative and other staff.
Linda Brown Buck is an American biologist best known for her work on the olfactory system. She was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with Richard Axel, for their work on olfactory receptors. She is currently on the faculty of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
Elvin Abraham Kabat was an American biomedical scientist and one of the founding fathers of quantitative immunochemistry. Kabat was awarded the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University in 1977, National Medal of Science in 1991, and American Association of Immunologists Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. He is the father of Jon Kabat-Zinn.
Emil Raphael Unanue was a Cuban-American immunologist and Paul & Ellen Lacy Professor Emeritus at Washington University School of Medicine. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Medicine. He previously served as chair of the National Academy of Sciences Section of Microbiology and Immunology.
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Kimishige "Kimi" Ishizaka was a Japanese immunologist who, with his wife Teruko Ishizaka, discovered the antibody class Immunoglobulin E (IgE) in 1966–1967. Their work was regarded as a major breakthrough in the understanding of allergy. He was awarded the 1973 Gairdner Foundation International Award and the 2000 Japan Prize for his work in immunology.
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Max Dale Cooper, is an American immunologist and a professor at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the Emory Vaccine Center of Emory University School of Medicine. He is known for characterizing T cells and B cells.
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Carl H. June is an American immunologist and oncologist. He is currently the Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. He is most well known for his research on T cell therapies for the treatment of several forms of cancers. In 2020 he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.
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Jacques Banchereau is an internationally prominent French American immunologist and molecular biologist. As of 2022, he is Chief Scientific Officer at Immunai. He was formerly professor and director of immunological sciences at the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine and also the former chief science officer, senior vice president, and DTA head of inflammation & virology at Hoffman-La Roche. He is best known for his extensive research on dendritic cells with Nobel Laureate Ralph M. Steinman. He is the fifth most cited immunologist ranked by Times Higher Education's report.
Misty Rayna Jenkins is an Australian scientist known for her research into lymphocytes and cancer treatment.
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Mitzi Nagarkatti is a researcher and a university administrator who has served as the Chair of the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of South Carolina (USC) School of Medicine at Columbia, SC, since 2005. She is also the SmartState Endowed Chair of the Center for Cancer Drug Discovery and Carolina Distinguished Professor. She pursues research in inflammatory diseases, immunotoxicology, and immunopharmacology. She has been recognized for her research contributions through numerous awards leading to her election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences, Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, and Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.