Thomas Wesley McDade is an American biological anthropologist. He is a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

, the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

, and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

Early life and education

McDade was born in

Des Plaines, Illinois Des Plaines () is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport. It is situat ...

and graduated from

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

with a degree in biosocial anthropology. Following this, he completed his PhD in anthropology from

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

and

postdoctoral fellowship A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary academ ...

at the Carolina Population Center.

Career

Upon completing his fellowship, McDade joined the faculty at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

(NU), in 2000. Early in his tenure at NU, McDade was the recipient of an

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States federal government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. T ...

for "undertaking important research that may ultimately improve child health through a better understanding of the social and environmental factors that affect the development of the human immune system." Following this, McDade developed a minimally invasive finger-prick technique to study the connections between stress and health problems. He used this technique to examine bio-markers in populations in Samoa, Kenya, and Bolivia. McDade later became the director of the Laboratory for Human Biology Research and of Cells to Society (C2S): The Center on Social Disparities and Health, as well as the director of the Graduate Cluster in Society, Biology, and Health. As such, he was elected a Fellow of the

. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, McDade collaborated with Feinberg investigators, Richard D’Aquila, Brian Mustanski and Elizabeth M. McNally, to develop an at-home COVID-19 antibody test that can determine prior exposure to the SAR-CoV-2 virus using a drop of blood. Later, he received a grant for his project "A bio-ecological integrative approach to understand the ‘hidden costs’ of COVID-19 on children." In June 2020, McDade applied his at-home COVID-19 antibody test towards another project titled "Screening for Coronavirus Antibodies in Neighborhoods." The aim of the study was to test antibodies amongst pre-exposed Chicagoans. As a result of his research, McDade was elected to the

and

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDade, Thomas Living people American anthropologists People from Des Plaines, Illinois Emory University alumni Pomona College alumni Northwestern University faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Year of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers