Jay A. Berzofsky, M.D., Ph. D.

        Jay Berzofsky has been the Chief of the Molecular Immunogenetics and Vaccine Research Section of the Metabolism Branch of the National Cancer Institute, NIH, since 1987. He received a Bachelor of Arts Summa cum Laude in Chemistry from Harvard University in 1967, and then a Ph.D. and M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1971 and 1973, respectively, the latter in protein biochemistry and biophysics under J. Peisach, W.E. Blumberg, and B. L. Horecker. After an internship in medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a postdoctoral fellowship with Alan N. Schechter and Christian B. Anfinsen, Dr. Berzofsky moved into immunology through collaborations with Drs. David H. Sachs and Gene M. Shearer, and joined the Metabolism Branch of NCI headed by Dr. Thomas A. Waldmann, where he has worked since 1976. Dr. Berzofsky's research has focused on Ir genes, antigen processing and presentation by MHC class I and class II molecules, the structure of antigenic determinants recognized by T and B cells, and the application of these principles to the design of vaccines for AIDS, malaria, cancer, and viruses that cause cancer, such as hepatitis C virus. With regard to hepatitis C virus, he has identified multiple epitopes recognized by human T cells, enhanced one such epitope to make a more potent vaccine, and shown protection of a core DNA vaccine in HLA-transgenic mice challenged with a surrogate virus expressing the hepatitis C core. He has published over 300 scientific articles and book chapters. Dr. Berzofsky has received an number of awards, including the U.S. Public Health Service Superior Service Award, the 31st Michael Heidelberger Award, the McLaughlin Visiting Professorship, and the Australasian Society for Immunology Visiting Lectureship. He is the past President of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and was recently elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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February 19, 2004

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