| 1 | Name: | Dr. Irving Weissman | |
| Institution: | Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford University | ||
| Year Elected: | 2008 | ||
| Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 202. Cellular and Developmental Biology | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Living | ||
| Birth Date: | 1939 | ||
Irving Weissman is Professor of Pathology, Professor of Developmental Biology, and Director of the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. A major contributor to cellular immunology, virology and oncology, he clarified the thymus's role in producing T-lymphocytes; implicated viral receptors in leukomogenesis; discovered lymphocyte homing receptors for lymph node venules; and characterized cellular recognition in protochordates. Weissman was the first to isolate mammalian stem cells, identifying these blood forming cells in mice and humans and defining the stages of development between stem cells and mature blood cells and cells of the immune system. This has led to important new treatments for leukemia and lymphoma since the stem cells he isolated are the ones that allow successful human bone marrow transplantation. Another important contribution by Weissman and his colleagues was the development of the SCID-hu mouse, which has functional human immune cells. This model allows human disease to be studied in vivo in experimental rodents. Weismann's transplantation of human tissue and cells to an immunodeficient mouse model has allowed him to isolate human hematopoietic stem cells. Most recently, he has isolated human stem cells capable of generating brain neurons. Irving Weissman received his Ph.D. from Stanford in 1965 and has served on the university's faculty since 1969. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (1989) and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (1990) and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2009). He has been awarded the Linus Pauling Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Science; the Jessie Stevenson Kovalenko Medal of the National Academy of Sciences; the E. Donnall Thomas Prize of the American Society of Hematology; and the Robert Koch Award. Irving Weissman was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2008. | |||