Paul Offit on Maurice Hilleman
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<p>Paul A. Offit, MD wrote this book about a fellow scientist who inspired his
own life and career. Vaccinated: One Man’s Quest to Defeat the World’s Deadliest
Diseases is the story of Maurice Hilleman.</p>
<p> This is an important book because although the work of Maurcie Hilleman has
resulted in saving the lives of hundreds of thousand children, most people are
not familiar with Hillman or his work. To write this book Paul Offit personally
interviewed Maurice Hillerman.</p>
<p> Hilleman was born in Montana on August 30, 1919-his twin sister was stillborn,
and his mother succumbed to eclampsia within 2 days after giving birth to him.
Raised by his uncle just down the road from his father and other siblings, Hilleman
developed the motivation to fight disease and the enormous drive and work ethic
that was to characterize his scientific career.</p>
<p> While he was clearly a gifted scientist, Maurice Hilleman, was never a pure
academic. He always worked in the pharmaceutical industry. In his first position
at Squibb, Hilleman learned the mechanics of vaccine production, specifically
focusing on influenza. Later, at Walter Reed Army Medical Research Institute,
he used that knowledge to create an influenza vaccine for the 1957 flu pandemic
(the occurrence of which he had correctly predicted), saving thousands of lives.
From Walter Reed, Hilleman moved on to become director of virus and cell biology
at Merck Research Laboratories. From this position, he was able to achieve advances
in both basic and applied vaccinology. In 1963, Hilleman isolated a strain of
mumps from his daughter, Jeryl Lynn, which he used as the starting material
for a vaccine (the Jeryl Lynn strain) that was licensed in 1967. More than 150
million doses of the Jeryl Lynn vaccine have been distributed in the United
States, preventing nearly 1 million cases of mumps every year. He also developed
a vaccine against rubella, a leading cause of birth defects, in 1969. Vaccines
against hepatitis B and hepatitis A followed in 1981 and 1995. During this period,
he also pushed for mass production of vaccines against pneumococcal bacteria,
Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and chickenpox. In total, Hilleman was
involved in the basic science or mass production of 9 major vaccines,</p>
<p> Hilleman’s body of work earned him respect and recognition by the scientific
community. Over the course of his career he earned numerous honors and awards,
including election to the National Academy of Sciences and the Special Lifetime
Achievement Award presented by the World Health Organization. </p>
<p>Listen to <a href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTr-HLz7dPc”>Paul Offit </a></p>
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