Hugh McDevitt
Encyclopedia
Hugh O'Neill McDevitt ForMemRS (born 26 August 1930) is a Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
at Stanford University School of Medicine
.
in 1955 and completing his residency in New York, Dr. McDevitt was a captain in the U.S. Army and a Special Fellow for the National Institutes of Medical Research in London, UK. He began his lifelong commitment to immunology by studying under Dr. Albert Coons and later Dr. John Humphrey. In Dr. Humphrey's lab he started exploring the MHC and immune response. He has been teaching at Stanford University
since 1966, and has acted as Chief of the Division of Immunology and Rheumatology, Director of the Clinical Immunology Laboratory and Chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
He has also achieved worldwide acclaim for his contributions to athritis research. Dr. McDevitt has mentored and taught many leaders in the field of immunology, and many members of the current Stanford Immunology faculty. Each year, the Hugh McDevitt Prize is presented to the Ph.D. candidate with the best dissertation research in the immunology program at Stanford University.
He has held the title of Outstanding Investigator, National Cancer Institute
, and been elected to the National Academy of Sciences
, The Institute of Medicine
of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Society
in London, England. He is a member of many societies, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science
, and the American Association of Immunologists.
Immunology
Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the...
at Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine is a leading medical school located at Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, California. Originally based in San Francisco, California as Cooper Medical College, it is the oldest continuously running medical school in the western United States...
.
Academic career
After receiving his M.D. from Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1955 and completing his residency in New York, Dr. McDevitt was a captain in the U.S. Army and a Special Fellow for the National Institutes of Medical Research in London, UK. He began his lifelong commitment to immunology by studying under Dr. Albert Coons and later Dr. John Humphrey. In Dr. Humphrey's lab he started exploring the MHC and immune response. He has been teaching at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
since 1966, and has acted as Chief of the Division of Immunology and Rheumatology, Director of the Clinical Immunology Laboratory and Chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
Research
Dr. McDevitt is most well known for his discovery of immune response genes and the first definitive physical map of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC). Specifically, his work focused on how the histocompatibility molecules regulate the immune response and their role in the development and function of the immune system. McDevitt has won awards "for his landmark discovery and identification of genes that control immune responsiveness, and his subsequent elucidation of mechanisms of antigen recognition and induction of the immune response." His research focuses on identifying and understanding how certain cells and specific sequence polymorphisms in a class II MHC molecule initiate diabetes and how T cells can prevent and suppress the transfer of diabetes. Along with Dr. Qing Li, they discovered that interferon-alpha, and immune signal, can trigger the onset of type-1 diabetes. "A normal process - programmed cell death - causes a normal response," McDevitt said. "But it does this in such a way that, in a small subset of the population, it starts them on the road to type-1 diabetes." He is considered an expert in the field of major histocompatibility class II molecules. Currently, his laboratory is working on identifying peptide fragments of proteins which lead to the inflammation and destruction of islet beta cells.He has also achieved worldwide acclaim for his contributions to athritis research. Dr. McDevitt has mentored and taught many leaders in the field of immunology, and many members of the current Stanford Immunology faculty. Each year, the Hugh McDevitt Prize is presented to the Ph.D. candidate with the best dissertation research in the immunology program at Stanford University.
Awards and Honors
Dr. McDevitt has received numerous awards and honors for his research related contributions. These include (to name a few): the Borden Award for Outstanding Research from the Association of American Medical Colleges; the Lee C. Howley, Sr. prize for Research in Arthritis; Outstanding Investigator, National Cancer Institute; Barbara Davis Diabetes Award; Abbott Laboratories Award in in Clinical and Diagnostic Immunology.He has held the title of Outstanding Investigator, National Cancer Institute
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...
, and been elected to the National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences commonly refers to the academy in the United States of America.National Academy of Sciences may also refer to :* National Academy of Sciences of Argentina* Armenian National Academy of Sciences...
, The Institute of Medicine
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...
of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in London, England. He is a member of many societies, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
, and the American Association of Immunologists.