John B. Robbins

John Bennett Robbins (born December 1, 1932 in New York City , New York - † November 27, 2019 ) was an American immunologist and a senior scientist at the National Institutes of Health . He was best known for working with Rachel Schneerson to develop conjugated vaccines , for example against meningitis ( Haemophilus influenzae b infection ).

Live and act

Robbins earned an MD from New York University in 1959 with a medical degree. After a research stay at the Weizmann Institute for Sciences (Israel) in 1965/66 , he received a professorship for paediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1967 . In 1970 he moved to a managerial position at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). From 1974 he headed the Bacterial Products Department at the Food and Drug Administration before moving back to NICHD in 1983 as Head of the Laboratory for Developmental and Molecular Immunity .

Robbins made important contributions to the development of vaccines against encapsulated bacteria. The mucous capsule ( glycocalyx ) of these bacteria is not very immunogenic for the child's immune system . By coupling polysaccharides from the mucous membrane with a protein , the toxoid of tetanus toxin , he developed conjugated vaccines , which evoke a significantly stronger immunity than non-conjugated vaccines. The vaccines against Haemophilus influenzae , Salmonella typhi and Bordetella pertussis , developed by Robbins and Schneerson and used around the world, suddenly reduced the number of infections with meningitis and other diseases such as osteomyelitis and pneumonia in children. Robbins was also able to make fundamental contributions to the field of innate immune responses .

In 1975 Robbins received the E. Mead Johnson Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics , in 1996 he received the Lasker ~ DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award , the Pasteur Award of the World Health Organization and in 2001 the Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal . For 2017 he was awarded the Prince Mahidol Prize . Robbins was a member of the National Academy of Sciences . In 2002 he was elected to the American Philosophical Society .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Donald G. McNeil Jr .: Dr. John Robbins, Developer of a Meningitis Vaccine, Dies at 86. In: The New York Times , December 17, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
2. ^ Lasker Foundation: Vaccine for preventing meningitis in children - The Lasker Foundation. In: laskerfoundation.org. Retrieved April 17, 2018 . 
3. ^ The Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal Award. The Sabin Vaccine Institute, accessed December 4, 2015 . 
4. ↑ John B. Robbins at the American Philosophical Society ; Retrieved December 4, 2015.