Stanley Falkow
Encyclopedia
Stanley Falkow, PhD, is microbiologist and a professor of microbiology
and immunology
at Stanford University School of Medicine
. He is sometimes referred to as the father of molecular microbial pathogenesis, which is the study of how infectious microbes and host cells interact to cause disease at the molecular level. He formulated molecular Koch's postulates
, which have guided the study of the microbial determinants of infectious diseases since the late 1980s.It was while she was at Walter Reed visiting his mentor Lou Baron, that Falkow met Esther Lederberg
, one of the leading researchers elucidating the relationship between plasmids and antibiotic resistance. (He would later become her Department Chairman at Stanford in 1981.)
, graduating cum laude, and went on to earn his Ph.D. from Brown University
. Following the completion of his graduate studies, Dr. Falkow went on to become a staff member at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
(WRAIR) in the Department of Bacterial Immunology where he was eventually named the assistant chief of the department. Dr. Falkow's early work in the 1960s focused on the genetic mechanisms that enable populations of bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics. He demonstrated that organisms, such as shigella
, can possess gene fragments called plasmids that exist apart from the bacterial chromosome and that they carry specialized information for survival. Under selective pressure from antibiotics, one species of bacteria can pass its plasmids to another unidirectionally rather than by mating, thereby preserving its own specialized survival genes.
In 1966, he joined Georgetown University School of Medicine
as a professor of microbiology. He later moved to Seattle to become a member of the faculty of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Washington School of Medicine
. Here he described how meningitis
and gonorrhea
organisms acquire plasmids to become resistant to penicillin
and other antibiotics.
In the 1970s, Falkow shifted his focus to the infection process. During this period, he showed that a life-threatening diarrhea prevalent in many developing countries is caused by a sub-type of E. coli. He also co-authored (with Royston C. Clowes, Stanley N. Cohen, Roy Curtiss
III, Naomi Datta
and Richard Novick) a proposal for uniform nomenclature for bacterial plasmids.
In 1981, he was named chairman of the Department of Medical Microbiology at Stanford University School of Medicine, a position he held until 1985. While at Stanford, Falkow encouraged Esther Lederberg to continue directing the Stanford Plasmid Reference Center, an internationally-used registry for plasmids, transposons and insertion sequences.)
that are activated only inside host cells. His work carries clinical applications, such as a new vaccine for whooping cough, as well as advancing knowledge in discovery of how cells are penetrated by bacteria.
Dr. Falkow has published numerous articles, and has served on the editorial boards of several professional publications. In addition, he has received numerous awards for his achievements in science. Some of these include the Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Infectious Disease Research, the Altemeier Medal from the Surgical Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Howard Taylor Ricketts
Award Lecture at the University of Chicago
, and the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize
. In 2003, he received the Abbott Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society for Microbiology
and the Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology
from the National Academy of Sciences
. He received the Robert Koch Award
in 2000.
Dr. Falkow was elected President of the American Society for Microbiology
and served from July 1997 through June 1998. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 1997 and received the Maxwell Finland Award
from the National Foundation of Infectious Diseases in 1999. He also received in 1999 an Honorary Doctor of Science, University of Guelph
, Guelph
, Ontario
and the University of Maine
Alumni Career Award. He has received honorary doctorates in Europe and the U.S.
Dr. Falkow is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine
, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was also elected into the UK's Royal Society
as a Foreign Member.
Dr. Falkow was also nominated twice for a Nobel prize in the category "Medicine".
In September, 2008, Dr. Falkow was one of five scientists awarded the prestigious Lasker Award
for medical research.
Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
and immunology
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...
. He is sometimes referred to as the father of molecular microbial pathogenesis, which is the study of how infectious microbes and host cells interact to cause disease at the molecular level. He formulated molecular Koch's postulates
Molecular Koch's postulates
Molecular Koch's postulates are a set of experimental criteria that must be satisfied to show that a gene found in a pathogenic microorganism encodes a product that contributes to the disease caused by the pathogen. Genes that satisfy molecular Koch's postulates are often referred to as virulence...
, which have guided the study of the microbial determinants of infectious diseases since the late 1980s.It was while she was at Walter Reed visiting his mentor Lou Baron, that Falkow met Esther Lederberg
Esther Lederberg
Esther Miriam Zimmer Lederberg was an American microbiologist and immunologist and pioneer of bacterial genetics...
, one of the leading researchers elucidating the relationship between plasmids and antibiotic resistance. (He would later become her Department Chairman at Stanford in 1981.)
Education and early career
Falkow received his B.S. degree from the University of MaineUniversity of Maine
The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...
, graduating cum laude, and went on to earn his Ph.D. from Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
. Following the completion of his graduate studies, Dr. Falkow went on to become a staff member at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
This article is about the U.S. Army medical research institute . Otherwise, see Walter Reed .The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research is the largest biomedical research facility administered by the U.S. Department of Defense...
(WRAIR) in the Department of Bacterial Immunology where he was eventually named the assistant chief of the department. Dr. Falkow's early work in the 1960s focused on the genetic mechanisms that enable populations of bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics. He demonstrated that organisms, such as shigella
Shigella
Shigella is a genus of Gram-negative, nonspore forming, non-motile, rod-shaped bacteria closely related to Escherichia coli and Salmonella. The causative agent of human shigellosis, Shigella causes disease in primates, but not in other mammals. It is only naturally found in humans and apes. During...
, can possess gene fragments called plasmids that exist apart from the bacterial chromosome and that they carry specialized information for survival. Under selective pressure from antibiotics, one species of bacteria can pass its plasmids to another unidirectionally rather than by mating, thereby preserving its own specialized survival genes.
In 1966, he joined Georgetown University School of Medicine
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Georgetown University School of Medicine, a medical school opened in 1851, is one of Georgetown University's five graduate schools. It is located on Reservoir Road in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC, adjacent to the University's main campus...
as a professor of microbiology. He later moved to Seattle to become a member of the faculty of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Washington School of Medicine
University of Washington School of Medicine
The University of Washington School of Medicine is a public medical school located in Seattle, Washington.-Overview:UWSOM is a graduate school affiliated with the University of Washington, and is the only medical school in the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho...
. Here he described how meningitis
Meningitis
Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...
and gonorrhea
Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is a common sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The usual symptoms in men are burning with urination and penile discharge. Women, on the other hand, are asymptomatic half the time or have vaginal discharge and pelvic pain...
organisms acquire plasmids to become resistant to penicillin
Penicillin
Penicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They include penicillin G, procaine penicillin, benzathine penicillin, and penicillin V....
and other antibiotics.
In the 1970s, Falkow shifted his focus to the infection process. During this period, he showed that a life-threatening diarrhea prevalent in many developing countries is caused by a sub-type of E. coli. He also co-authored (with Royston C. Clowes, Stanley N. Cohen, Roy Curtiss
Roy Curtiss
Roy Curtiss, III is a professor of Genomics, Evolution, & Bioinformatics at Arizona State University. He was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 2001.-Education:...
III, Naomi Datta
Naomi Datta
Naomi Datta, FRS was a distinguished British geneticist. Working at Hammersmith Hospital in the 1950s and early 1960s she identified horizontal gene transfer as a source of multi-antibiotic resistance in bacteria....
and Richard Novick) a proposal for uniform nomenclature for bacterial plasmids.
In 1981, he was named chairman of the Department of Medical Microbiology at Stanford University School of Medicine, a position he held until 1985. While at Stanford, Falkow encouraged Esther Lederberg to continue directing the Stanford Plasmid Reference Center, an internationally-used registry for plasmids, transposons and insertion sequences.)
Contributions and honors
Among his contributions, Dr. Falkow's adopted the perspective of viewing infection as a process that is ultimately mediated by the host. He discovered that infectious microbes employ genesGênes
Gênes is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Italy, named after the city of Genoa. It was formed in 1805, when Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the Republic of Genoa. Its capital was Genoa, and it was divided in the arrondissements of Genoa, Bobbio, Novi Ligure, Tortona and...
that are activated only inside host cells. His work carries clinical applications, such as a new vaccine for whooping cough, as well as advancing knowledge in discovery of how cells are penetrated by bacteria.
Dr. Falkow has published numerous articles, and has served on the editorial boards of several professional publications. In addition, he has received numerous awards for his achievements in science. Some of these include the Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Infectious Disease Research, the Altemeier Medal from the Surgical Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Howard Taylor Ricketts
Howard Taylor Ricketts
Howard Taylor Ricketts was an American pathologist after whom the Rickettsiaceae family and the Rickettsiales are named....
Award Lecture at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, and the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize
Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize
The Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize is given every year since 1952 for investigations in medicine. The prize carries a prize money of 100.000 Euro. The prize awarding ceremony is traditionally on March 14, the birthday of Paul Ehrlich, in the St. Pauls-Church, Frankfurt.Awarded are...
. In 2003, he received the Abbott Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society for Microbiology
American Society for Microbiology
The American Society for Microbiology is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. Microbiology is the study of organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye and which must be viewed with a...
and the Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology
Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology
The Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "in recognition of excellence in the field of microbiology." Named after Selman Waksman, it was first awarded in 1968....
from the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
. He received the Robert Koch Award
Robert Koch Prize
The Robert Koch Medal and Award are two prizes awarded annually for excellence in the biomedical sciences. These awards grew out of early attempts by Robert Koch to generate funding to support his research into the cause and cure for tuberculosis...
in 2000.
Dr. Falkow was elected President of the American Society for Microbiology
American Society for Microbiology
The American Society for Microbiology is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. Microbiology is the study of organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye and which must be viewed with a...
and served from July 1997 through June 1998. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 1997 and received the Maxwell Finland Award
Maxwell Finland Award
The Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement is an award given annually by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases to a scientist who has made "outstanding contributions to the understanding of infectious diseases or public health," based on criteria that include "excellence in...
from the National Foundation of Infectious Diseases in 1999. He also received in 1999 an Honorary Doctor of Science, University of Guelph
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
, Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and the University of Maine
University of Maine
The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...
Alumni Career Award. He has received honorary doctorates in Europe and the U.S.
Dr. Falkow is an elected member of 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...
, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was also elected into the UK's 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"...
as a Foreign Member.
Dr. Falkow was also nominated twice for a Nobel prize in the category "Medicine".
In September, 2008, Dr. Falkow was one of five scientists awarded the prestigious Lasker Award
Lasker Award
The Lasker Awards have been awarded annually since 1946 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science or who have performed public service on behalf of medicine. They are administered by the Lasker Foundation, founded by advertising pioneer Albert Lasker and his wife Mary...
for medical research.
External links
- Who Speaks for the Microbes? - article by Dr. Falkow
- "Host-Pathogen Interaction and Human Disease" online talk by Stanley Falkow