This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
NIH physician and immunologist to receive molecular medicine award
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
John J. O’Shea, MD, scientific director at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, will receive the second annual Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine.
“John’s scientific achievements in molecular immunology have been transformative,” Stephen I. Katz, MD, PhD, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) director, said in a press release. “His work exemplifies the bridge between basic research and clinical practice.”
John J. O'Shea
The award “is bestowed upon an active investigator who has produced innovative, paradigm-shifting research that is worthy of significant and broad attention in the field of molecular medicine” by the Feinstein Institute’s peer-reviewed, open access journal, Molecular Medicine, according to the release. It includes a $50,000 prize from Feinstein Institute members Robin and Jack Ross.
O’Shea has been a physician and immunologist at the National Institutes of Health for 33 years and has conducted research on primary immunodeficiencies and the genetic basis of autoinflammatory disorders. His work on Janus kinase inhibitors as a new class of immunosuppressive drugs was awarded a US patent. A compound approved for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis was generated from O’Shea’s development of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Pfizer, according to the release.
“From the beginning of my career, I was hoping to make discoveries that are important scientifically, but also directly help people — for me, it doesn’t really get any better than that,” O’Shea said in a separate release. “It is very gratifying that my efforts to these ends are being recognized by this award."
O’Shea received subspecialty training in allergy and immunology at NIH, was appointed chief of the NIAMS Molecular Immunology and Inflammation Branch in 2002, and became scientific director of the NIAMS Intramural Research Program in 2005.
The award will be presented June 9 in New York and will include scientific presentations by O’Shea and other researchers.