Alan Aderem is an American

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

, specializing in

immunology Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in ...

and

cell biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...

. Aderem's particular focus is the

innate immune system The innate immune system or nonspecific immune system is one of the two main immunity strategies in vertebrates (the other being the adaptive immune system). The innate immune system is an alternate defense strategy and is the dominant immune s ...

, the part of the immune system that responds generically to pathogens. His laboratory's research focuses on diseases afflicting citizens of resource poor countries, including

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

Education

A native of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, Aderem joined the

anti-apartheid movement The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-white population who were oppressed by the policies ...

as a teen in South Africa. He played a role in trade unions and community movements, and edited a township newspaper. Aderem was banned and put under house arrest for 5 years from 1977 to 1982. He was also a clandestine member of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

(ANC). He left South Africa in 1982. Aderem obtained his Ph.D. at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at The

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a Private university, private Medical research, biomedical Research university, research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and pro ...

in the laboratory of Zanvil Cohn. Aderem became head of the laboratory of Signal Transduction in 1991. In 1996, he accepted a professorship of Immunology and Medicine at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

Career

In 2012, Aderem became president of Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (Seattle BioMed). Aderem co-founded the

Institute for Systems Biology Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) is a non-profit research institution located in Seattle, Washington, United States. ISB concentrates on systems biology, the study of relationships and interactions between various parts of biological systems, ...

with

Leroy Hood Leroy "Lee" Edward Hood (born October 10, 1938) is an American biologist who has served on the faculties at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of Washington. Hood has developed ground-breaking scientific instrumen ...

and

Ruedi Aebersold Rudolf Aebersold (better known as Ruedi Aebersold; born September 12, 1954) is a Swiss biologist, regarded as a pioneer in the fields of proteomics and systems biology. He has primarily researched techniques for measuring proteins in complex samp ...

in 2000 and served as its director until 2011. The ISB, the first institute for systems biology worldwide, focuses on a holistic understanding of biology, health, and disease. Aderem has edited several journals including The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Current Opinion in Immunology, and Immunological Reviews. His professional honors include a MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health and a Pew Scholars award, honors from the Burroughs Welcome Fund and the American Heart Association. Aderem serves on the scientific advisory board of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative; the science steering committee of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise; and as an advisory board member for the NIH

LIPID MAPS LIPID MAPS (Lipid Metabolites and Pathways Strategy) is a web portal designed to be a gateway to Lipidomics resources. The resource has spearheaded a classification of biological lipids, dividing them into eight general categories. LIPID MAPS pro ...

Consortium. Aderem served as chairman of the board of directors of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute-funded KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV (KRITH). He was appointed chair of the Parliamentary Review Commission of the Medical Research Council of South Africa in 1996 and 2001, and serves as a scientific advisor to the South African government. He also serves on the advisory board of the

International Immunology ''International Immunology'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Japanese Society for Immunology, addressing studies in allergology and immunology. Abstracting and indexing ''International I ...

Frontier Research Center at Osaka University and is on the advisory panel of the European Research Council.

Family

Aderem is married to Kathy Barker, with whom he has three children.

References

External links

Aderem Principal Investigator Biography Page at Seattle BioMed

Seattle BioMed website

Press about Aderem's move to Seattle BioMed

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aderem, Alan Living people American immunologists South African biologists American systems biologists University of Cape Town alumni University of Washington faculty White South African anti-apartheid activists South African anti-apartheid activists Year of birth missing (living people)