Carol Hanlon Pontzer (July 12, 1954 – July 15, 2017) was an American immunologist. She was a program director at the

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) is a United States government agency which explores complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). It was created in 1991 as the Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM), and r ...

. Pontzer was previously a professor of immunology at that

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

Education

Born in Bethesda, Pontzer completed a Ph.D. in biology from

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

. She received her postdoctoral training at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. It was there that she began working on structural studies of type I

interferon Interferons (IFNs, ) are a group of signaling proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of several viruses. In a typical scenario, a virus-infected cell will release interferons causing nearby cells to heighten ...

s and binding of

staphylococcal ''Staphylococcus'', from Ancient Greek σταφυλή (''staphulḗ''), meaning "bunch of grapes", and (''kókkos''), meaning "kernel" or " Kermes", is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria in the family Staphylococcaceae from the order Bacillales ...

enterotoxins An enterotoxin is a protein exotoxin released by a microorganism that targets the intestines. They can be chromosomally or plasmid encoded. They are heat labile (> 60 °C), of low molecular weight and water-soluble. Enterotoxins are frequently cy ...

to MHC using

synthetic peptide In organic chemistry, peptide synthesis is the production of peptides, compounds where multiple amino acids are linked via amide bonds, also known as peptide bonds. Peptides are chemically synthesized by the condensation reaction of the carboxyl ...

mimetics and inhibitors. Together with Howard Johnson and Fuller Bazer, she identified and characterized the activity of a novel subtype of interferon,

interferon tau Interferon tau (IFNτ, IFNT) is a Type I interferon made of a single chain of amino acids. IFN-τ was first discovered in ruminants as the signal for the maternal recognition of pregnancy and originally named ovine trophoblast protein-1 (oTP-1). It ...

Career

Pontzer worked at the department of

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 ...

and

molecular genetics Molecular genetics is a branch of biology that addresses how differences in the structures or expression of DNA molecules manifests as variation among organisms. Molecular genetics often applies an "investigative approach" to determine the st ...

at the

(UMD). There she worked on the structure/function relationship of immune modifiers, creating a panel of type I interferons with mutations that altered receptor binding, JAK/STAT signaling and subsequent activity and toxicity. Pontzer taught immunology and

microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

for 11 years at UMD. She continued to teach immunology online until her death. Pontzer joined the

(NCCIH) as a scientific review officer in 2002. She later became a program director in the division of extramural research. Pontzer oversaw a grants portfolio on complementary health approaches intended to modulate immunity. This included mitigation of symptoms, such as inflammation, and use of natural product interventions in diseases such as

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

/allergy and

arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

. She was a basic scientist with expertise in immunologic, genomic and

proteomic Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins. Proteins are vital macromolecules of all living organisms, with many functions such as the formation of structural fibers of muscle tissue, enzymatic digestion of food, or synthesis and replicatio ...

methodologies.

Personal life

Pontzer died of

brain cancer A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cance ...

on July 15, 2017.

References

External links

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PubMed search for Carol Pontzer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pontzer, Carol 1954 births 2017 deaths American immunologists American women immunologists University of Maryland, College Park faculty Marquette University alumni National Institutes of Health people 20th-century American women scientists 21st-century American women scientists American medical researchers American women medical researchers People from Bethesda, Maryland