Maurice Hilleman
Maurice Hilleman | |
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Montana State University University of Chicago |
Occupation(s) | Microbiologist, vaccinologist |
Known for |
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Spouses | |
Children | 2 |
Awards |
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Maurice Ralph Hilleman (August 30, 1919 – April 11, 2005) was a leading American
Of the 14 vaccines routinely recommended in American
Biography
Early life and education
Hilleman was born on a farm near the
His family belonged to the
Career
After joining E.R. Squibb & Sons (now
In 1957, Hilleman joined Merck & Co. (Kenilworth, New Jersey), as head of its new virus and cell biology research department in West Point, Pennsylvania. It was at Merck that Hilleman developed most of the forty experimental and licensed animal and human vaccines for which he is credited, working both at the laboratory bench as well as providing scientific leadership.
Hilleman served on many national and international advisory boards and committees, academic, governmental and private, including the National Institutes of Health's Office of AIDS Research Program Evaluation and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the National Immunization Program.[citation needed]
Asian flu pandemic
Hilleman was among the first to recognize that a
In 1968, during the Hong Kong flu pandemic, Hilleman and his team also played a key role in developing a vaccine, and nine million doses became available in 4 months.[7][26]
SV40
Hilleman was one of the vaccine pioneers to warn about the possibility that simian viruses might contaminate vaccines.[27] The best-known of these viruses is SV40, a viral contaminant of the polio vaccine, whose discovery led to the recall of Salk's vaccine in 1961 and its replacement with Albert Sabin's oral vaccine. The contamination occurred in both vaccines at very low levels, but because the oral vaccine was ingested rather than injected, it did not result in any harm.[citation needed]
Mumps vaccine
In 1963, his daughter Jeryl Lynn came down with the
Hepatitis B vaccine
He and his group invented[4] a vaccine for hepatitis B by treating blood serum with pepsin, urea and formaldehyde. This was licensed in 1981, but withdrawn in 1986 in the United States and replaced by a vaccine that was produced in yeast. The latter vaccine is still in use. By 2003, 150 countries were using it and the incidence of the disease in the United States in young people had decreased by 95%. Hilleman considered his work on this vaccine to be his single greatest achievement. Liver transplant pioneer Thomas Starzl said "...controlling the hepatitis B virus scourge ranks as one of the most outstanding contributions to human health of the twentieth century...Maurice removed one of the most important obstacles to the field of organ transplantation".[29]
Later work and life
In his later life, Hilleman advised the World Health Organization. He retired as senior vice president of the Merck Research Labs in 1984 at its mandatory retirement age of 65. He then directed the newly created Merck Institute for Vaccinology where he worked for the next twenty years until his death in 2005.[30]
At the time of his death in Philadelphia on April 11, 2005,[21] at the age of 85, Hilleman was Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Method and personality
Hilleman was a forceful man yet at the same time, modest in his claims. None of his vaccines or discoveries are named after him. He ran his laboratory like a military unit, and he was the one in command. For a time, he kept a row of "shrunken heads" (actually fakes made by one of his children) in his office as trophies representing each of his fired employees. He used profanity and tirades freely to drive his arguments home, and once, famously, refused to attend a mandatory "charm school" course intended to make Merck middle managers more civil. His subordinates were fiercely loyal to him.[4]: 128–131
Awards and honors
Hilleman was an elected member of the
Legacy
In March 2005, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine's Department of Pediatrics and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, in collaboration with The Merck Company Foundation, announced the creation of The Maurice R. Hilleman Chair in Vaccinology.[citation needed]
In 2005, Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that Hilleman's contributions were "the best kept secret among the lay public. If you look at the whole field of vaccinology, nobody was more influential."[2] In addition, Fauci said that "Hilleman is one of the true giants of science, medicine and public health in the 20th century. One can say without hyperbole that Maurice has changed the world."[7][35]
In 2007, Paul Offit published a biography of Hilleman, entitled Vaccinated: One Man's Quest to Defeat the World's Deadliest Diseases.[4]
In 2007, Anthony S. Fauci wrote in a biographical memoir of Hilleman:[7][36]
Maurice was perhaps the single most influential public health figure of the twentieth century, if one considers the millions of lives saved and the countless people who were spared suffering because of his work. Over the course of his career, Maurice and his colleagues developed more than forty vaccines. Of the fourteen vaccines currently recommended in the United States, Maurice developed eight.
In 2008, Merck named its Maurice R. Hilleman Center for Vaccine Manufacturing, in Durham, North Carolina, in memory of Hilleman.[37]
In 2009, the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) established the Maurice Hilleman/Merck Award in Vaccinology
In 2016, a documentary film titled Hilleman: A Perilous Quest to Save the World's Children, chronicling Hilleman's life and career, was released by Medical History Pictures, Inc.[39]
In 2016, Montana State University dedicated a series of scholarships in memory of its alumnus Hilleman, called the Hilleman Scholars Program,[40] for incoming students who "commit to work at their education beyond ordinary expectations and help future scholars that come after them".[41]
References
- ^ "About Dr. Hilleman". hillemanfilm.com.
- ^ PMC 557162.
- ^ S2CID 13028372.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-06-122796-7.
- ^ "Maurice Hilleman". www.telegraph.co.uk. 14 April 2005. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
- ^ a b c d "Maurice Ralph Hilleman (1919–2005) | The Embryo Project Encyclopedia". Arizona State University. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
- ^ PMC 7150172.
- ^ a b Maugh, Thomas H. II (2005-04-13). "Maurice R. Hilleman, 85; Scientist Developed Many Vaccines That Saved Millions of Lives". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
- ^ "Dr. Maurice Hilleman: "The father of modern vaccines"". Merck.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
- S2CID 71919247.
- ^ "The Unknown (Vaccine) Hero: Dr. Maurice Hilleman | Immunize Nevada". www.immunizenevada.org. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
- ^ a b Simpson, J. Cavanaugh (2020-04-19). "The Man Who Beat the 1957 Flu Pandemic". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- ^ a b Offord, Catherine (2020-06-01). "Confronting a Pandemic, 1957". The Scientist Magazine. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
- S2CID 26364385.
- S2CID 46630955.
- PMID 16963733.
- ^ "World Who's who in Science: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Scientists from Antiquity to the Present". 1968.
- ^ a b "Maurice Hilleman". The Independent. April 19, 2005. Archived from the original on 2022-05-12. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- PMC 557162.
- OCLC 191245549.
- ^ Simpson, J. Cavanaugh. "The Man Who Beat the 1957 Flu Pandemic". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
- ^ "This virologist saved millions of children—and stopped a pandemic". National Geographic. 2020-05-29. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
- ^ "Vaccine for Hong Kong Influenza Pandemic". History of Vaccines. Archived from the original on 2021-04-17. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
- ISBN 0-312-27872-1.
- OCLC 191245549.
- OCLC 191245549.
- S2CID 71919247.
- ^ "Maurice R. Hilleman". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ "Maurice Ralph Hilleman". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- American Academy of Achievement.
- ^ "Maurice R. Hilleman, 85; Scientist Developed Many Vaccines That Saved Millions of Lives". Los Angeles Times. 2005-04-13. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
- JSTOR 25478459.
- ^ "Merck & Co., Inc., Dedicates Durham Vaccine Manufacturing Facility in Honor of Merck Scientist Maurice R. Hilleman, Ph.D." Business Wire. Berkshire Hathaway. October 15, 2008. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ "Maurice Hilleman/Merck Award" (PDF). 30 January 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
- ^ "Hilleman – A Perilous Quest to Save the World's Children". hillemanfilm.com. Vaccine Education Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ "MSU Hilleman Scholars Program". Montana State University. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ MSU News Service. "MSU inaugurates Hilleman Scholars Program for Montanans in honor of world's most famous vaccinologist". Montana State University. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
External links
- Hilleman – A Perilous Quest to Save the World's Children (a documentary about his life)