Maurice Hilleman

Maurice Hilleman
Hilleman c. 1958, as chief of the Dept. of Virus Diseases, Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Born
Maurice Ralph Hilleman

August 30, 1919
Miles City, Montana, U.S.
DiedApril 11, 2005(2005-04-11) (aged 85)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materMontana State University
University of Chicago
Occupation(s)Microbiologist, vaccinologist
Known for
Spouses
Thelma Mason
​
​
(m. 1943; died 1963)​
Lorraine Witmer
​
(m. 1964)​
[1]
Children2
Awards

Maurice Ralph Hilleman (August 30, 1919 – April 11, 2005) was a leading American microbiologist who specialized in vaccinology and developed over 40 vaccines, an unparalleled record of productivity.[2][3][4][5][6] According to one estimate, his vaccines save nearly eight million lives each year.[3] He has been described as one of the most influential vaccinologists ever.[2][6][7][8][9][10] He has been called the "father of modern vaccines".[11][12] Robert Gallo called Hilleman "the most successful vaccinologist in history".[13] He has been noted by some researchers as having saved more lives than any other scientist in the 20th century.[14][15]

Of the 14 vaccines routinely recommended in American vaccine schedules, Hilleman and his team developed eight: those for measles, mumps, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, chickenpox, Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae bacteria.[4][7] During the influenza pandemic in Southern China, his vaccine is believed to have saved hundreds of thousands of lives.[7][15][16] He also played a key role in developing the vaccine for the Hong Kong flu.[7] He also played a role in the discovery of antigenic shift and drift, the cold-producing adenoviruses, the hepatitis viruses, and the potentially cancer-causing virus SV40.[3][6][17][18][19]

  1. ^ "About Dr. Hilleman". hillemanfilm.com.
  2. ^ a b Newman, Laura (2005-04-30). "Maurice Hilleman". BMJ: British Medical Journal. 330 (7498): 1028. doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7498.1028. ISSN 0959-8138. PMC 557162.
  3. ^ a b c Dove, Alan (April 2005). "Maurice Hilleman". Nature Medicine. 11 (4): S2. doi:10.1038/nm1223. ISSN 1546-170X. PMID 15812484. S2CID 13028372.
  4. ^ a b Offit, Paul A. (2007). Vaccinated: One Man's Quest to Defeat the World's Deadliest Diseases. Washington, DC: Smithsonian. ISBN 978-0-06-122796-7.
  5. ^ "Maurice Hilleman". www.telegraph.co.uk. 14 April 2005. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  6. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b c d Tulchinsky, Theodore H. (2018). "Maurice Hilleman: Creator of Vaccines That Changed the World". Case Studies in Public Health: 443–470. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-804571-8.00003-2. ISBN 9780128045718. PMC 7150172.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Maugh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Dr. Maurice Hilleman: "The father of modern vaccines"". Merck.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  10. ^ Levine, Myron M.; Gallo, Robert C. (2005). "A Tribute to Maurice Ralph Hilleman". Human Vaccines. 1 (3): 93–94. doi:10.4161/hv.1.3.1967. S2CID 71919247.
  11. ^ "The Unknown (Vaccine) Hero: Dr. Maurice Hilleman | Immunize Nevada". www.immunizenevada.org. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  12. ^ Winston-Macauley, Marnie (2022-11-20). "This Doctor Saved Tens of Millions of Lives, Yet Few Know his Name". Aish.com. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  13. ^ II, Thomas H. Maugh (2005-04-13). "Maurice R. Hilleman, 85; Scientist Developed Many Vaccines That Saved Millions of Lives". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  14. ^ Reed, Christopher (2005-04-14). "Maurice Hilleman". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  15. ^ a b Simpson, J. Cavanaugh (2020-04-19). "The Man Who Beat the 1957 Flu Pandemic". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  16. ^ Offord, Catherine (2020-06-01). "Confronting a Pandemic, 1957". The Scientist Magazine. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  17. ^ Kurth, Reinhard (April 2005). "Maurice R. Hilleman (1919–2005)". Nature. 434 (7037): 1083. doi:10.1038/4341083a. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 15858560. S2CID 26364385.
  18. ^ Oransky, Ivan (2005-05-14). "Maurice R Hilleman". The Lancet. 365 (9472): 1682. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)66536-1. ISSN 0140-6736. PMID 15912596. S2CID 46630955.
  19. ^ Poulin, D. L.; Decaprio, J. A. (2006). "Is There a Role for SV40 in Human Cancer?". Journal of Clinical Oncology. 24 (26): 4356–65. doi:10.1200/JCO.2005.03.7101. PMID 16963733.