National Academy of Science, UA Alumnus Michael Oldstone to Speak at UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – National Academy of Sciences member and University of Alabama alumnus Dr. Michael B.A. Oldstone will present his speech, “How Viruses Changed our Country, Continent and Culture: Past, Present and Future Plagues,” 2 p.m. Sept. 5 in 127 Biology Building on the UA campus.

Oldstone is a professor and head of the viral-immunobiology laboratory in the department of immunology and microbial science at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif. In May he was one of 72 scientists in 2008 elected to the National Academy of Sciences—one of the most prestigious honor societies in the world, recognizing scientists who have made monumental achievements in original research.

“Oldstone established the most fundamental principle of viral immunopathology,” according to the National Academy of Sciences, “that immune responses to noncytopathic viruses cause inflammatory diseases in infected tissues, that failure of those responses leads to persistent infection, and that functionally defective responses cause chronic destructive diseases that can destroy the organ and kill the host.”

Oldstone, who is considered to be one of the top experts in neurology and viral biology worldwide, has received many national and international awards in addition to his membership in the National Academy of Sciences:

• Pioneer in NeuroVirology Award, International Society for NeuroVirology, 2003
• R.E. Dyer Lectureship and Directors Award (NIH) (contributions in viral pathogenesis), 2000
• J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine (host-virus interactions), 1997
• National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, 1996
• Biomedical Science Award, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden (contributions virus/autoimmune diseases), 1994
• Rous-Whipple Award (contributions in experimental pathology), 1993
• Abraham Flexner Award (contributions in biomedical research), 1988
• Cotzias Award (contributions in research of CNS), 1986

Oldstone received his bachelor’s degree in biology from The University of Alabama in 1954 and a medical degree from The University of Maryland in 1961. He entered the combined M.D.-Ph.D. program through The University of Maryland and the McCollum-Pratt Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where he studied biochemistry and microbiology.

He trained at Walter Reed Army Medical Center under the guidance of senior experts in virology and then at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation (now the Scripps Research Institute) in the department of experimental pathology. There he worked in the laboratory of Frank Dixon, one of the giants in immunology.

In 1966 he became a faculty member at the Scripps Research Institute, one of the country’s largest private, nonprofit research organizations engaged in basic biomedical science. While at Scripps, Oldstone has focused primarily on negative-stranded RNA viruses, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, known as LCMV, and measles virus, as well as infectious folding protein disease.

His studies changed the once-accepted dogma that a virus that persists in the body causes tolerance of the immune system; he extended these findings to human infections. Oldstone defined both LCMV and measles virus as infections that lead to a suppression of the immune system. His research has proven instrumental in the understanding of human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, various types of hepatitis virus, and other human persistent virus infections.

Oldstone also has written the book, “Viruses, Plagues, and History,” which addresses a number of global events precipitated by viruses and mortal illnesses. It was featured in the New York Times Sunday book section and has been translated into six different languages.

While at UA, Oldstone will meet with faculty and students. His lecture and visit is sponsored by the Office of the Dean and the department of biological sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All-American Teams.