Robert M. Chanock
Encyclopedia
Robert Merritt Chanock was an American pediatrician
and virologist
who made major contributions to the prevention and treatment of childhood respiratory infections in more than 50 years spent at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
.
Chanock was born July 8, 1924 in Chicago
. His post-secondary plans were to study physics. When he was drafted by the United States Army
in 1943, he was given the choice of attending medical school with his course of study paid for by the military or going to the front lines. Chanock passed the entrance examination and graduated from the University of Chicago
in 1945 and the University of Chicago School of Medicine
in 1947. He did his internship at Highland Hospital
in Oakland and trained in pediatrics at the University of Chicago.
After completing his medical training, he did a fellowship
Cincinnati's Children's Hospital
, where he worked under Albert Sabin
, who called Chanock his "star scientific son." He was drafted by the Army in 1952 and was sent to Korea
to help deal with an outbreak of Japanese encephalitis
, but a ruptured appendix
forced him to Tokyo
, where he did research on infectious disease
. he returned to Children's Hospital after being released from Army duty, and later did research at the University of Cincinnati
and Johns Hopkins University
.
He joined the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where he discovered the human respiratory syncytial virus
, which is the cause of respiratory tract infections in children each winter, and is one of the most common causes of illness. Asked the best means to prevent the disease, Chanock quipped "one thing you can tell them is to have their babies in the spring". A research team led by Chanock announced in 1962 the discovery that one of the causes of atypical pneumonia
is Mycoplasma pneumoniae
, a bacterium that can be treated with antibiotics. Chanock was named head of the NIAID's Laboratory of Infectious Diseases in 1968. Researchers working with Chanock developed vaccines to prevent adenovirus infection
, Hepatitis A
and rotavirus
, the most common cause of severe diarrhoea in infants and young children, as well as an influenza virus vaccine in the form of a nasal spray
. Efforts were underway to create a vaccine to deal with dengue fever
, though efforts to create immunizations for para-influenza viruses and respiratory syncytial virus were unsuccessful.
Chanock was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences
in 1973. He was also honored with the Robert Koch Prize
, the Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal
, the E. Mead Johnson Award
, the Public Health Service's Meritorious Service Medal and Distinguished Service Medal.
NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci
called Chanock "an outstanding scientist whose innumerable contributions to the understanding of viral diseases helped make the world a healthier place for millions of people".
A resident of Bethesda, Maryland
, Chanock died at age 86 on July 30, 2010, at an assisted living
facility in Sykesville, Maryland
, due to complications of Alzheimer's disease
. He was survived by a son and four grandchildren.
Pediatrics
Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
and virologist
Virology
Virology is the study of viruses and virus-like agents: their structure, classification and evolution, their ways to infect and exploit cells for virus reproduction, the diseases they cause, the techniques to isolate and culture them, and their use in research and therapy...
who made major contributions to the prevention and treatment of childhood respiratory infections in more than 50 years spent at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health , an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services...
.
Chanock was born July 8, 1924 in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. His post-secondary plans were to study physics. When he was drafted by the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in 1943, he was given the choice of attending medical school with his course of study paid for by the military or going to the front lines. Chanock passed the entrance examination and graduated from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1945 and the University of Chicago School of Medicine
Pritzker School of Medicine
The Pritzker School of Medicine is the M.D. granting unit of the Biological Sciences Division of the University of Chicago. It is located on the University's main campus in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, and matriculated its first class in 1927...
in 1947. He did his internship at Highland Hospital
Alameda County Medical Center
Alameda County Medical Center is a medical organization operated by Alameda County, California. It operates hospitals and primary care medical clinics within the county.-Hospitals:*Highland Hospital, Oakland...
in Oakland and trained in pediatrics at the University of Chicago.
After completing his medical training, he did a fellowship
Fellowship (medicine)
A fellowship is the period of medical training in the United States and Canada that a physician may undertake after completing a specialty training program . During this time , the physician is known as a fellow...
Cincinnati's Children's Hospital
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is a 523-bed pediatric hospital located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is currently ranked the third-best pediatric medical center in the United States by US News and World Report...
, where he worked under Albert Sabin
Albert Sabin
Albert Bruce Sabin was an American medical researcher best known for having developed an oral polio vaccine.-Life:...
, who called Chanock his "star scientific son." He was drafted by the Army in 1952 and was sent to Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
to help deal with an outbreak of Japanese encephalitis
Japanese Encephalitis
Japanese encephalitis —previously known as Japanese B encephalitis to distinguish it from von Economo's A encephalitis—is a disease caused by the mosquito-borne Japanese encephalitis virus. The Japanese encephalitis virus is a virus from the family Flaviviridae. Domestic pigs and wild birds are...
, but a ruptured appendix
Appendicitis
Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to...
forced him to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, where he did research on infectious disease
Infectious disease
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
. he returned to Children's Hospital after being released from Army duty, and later did research at the University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
and Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
.
He joined the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where he discovered the human respiratory syncytial virus
Human respiratory syncytial virus
Human respiratory syncytial virus is a virus that causes respiratory tract infections. It is the major cause of lower respiratory tract infections and hospital visits during infancy and childhood. A prophylactic medication exists for preterm birth infants and infants with a congenital heart...
, which is the cause of respiratory tract infections in children each winter, and is one of the most common causes of illness. Asked the best means to prevent the disease, Chanock quipped "one thing you can tell them is to have their babies in the spring". A research team led by Chanock announced in 1962 the discovery that one of the causes of atypical pneumonia
Atypical pneumonia
Atypical pneumonia aka "walking pneumonia" is a pneumonia not caused by one of the more traditional pathogens, and with a clinical presentation inconsistent with typical pneumonia. It can be caused by a variety of microorganisms...
is Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a very small bacterium in the class Mollicutes.It causes the disease mycoplasma pneumonia, a form of atypical bacterial pneumonia, and is related to cold agglutinin disease.-Cell wall/Treatment:...
, a bacterium that can be treated with antibiotics. Chanock was named head of the NIAID's Laboratory of Infectious Diseases in 1968. Researchers working with Chanock developed vaccines to prevent adenovirus infection
Adenoviridae
Adenoviruses are medium-sized , nonenveloped icosahedral viruses composed of a nucleocapsid and a double-stranded linear DNA genome...
, Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is an acute infectious disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus , an RNA virus, usually spread the fecal-oral route; transmitted person-to-person by ingestion of contaminated food or water or through direct contact with an infectious person...
and rotavirus
Rotavirus
Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea among infants and young children, and is one of several viruses that cause infections often called stomach flu, despite having no relation to influenza. It is a genus of double-stranded RNA virus in the family Reoviridae. By the age of five,...
, the most common cause of severe diarrhoea in infants and young children, as well as an influenza virus vaccine in the form of a nasal spray
Nasal spray
Nasal sprays come in a variety of forms. Medicated such as Astelin, Afrin and Nasonex and natural such as Sinusoothe and Sterimar. Although delivery methods vary, most nasal sprays function by instilling a fine mist into the nostril by action of a hand-operated pump mechanism.-Antihistamine nasal...
. Efforts were underway to create a vaccine to deal with dengue fever
Dengue fever
Dengue fever , also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles...
, though efforts to create immunizations for para-influenza viruses and respiratory syncytial virus were unsuccessful.
Chanock was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
in 1973. He was also honored with the Robert Koch Prize
Robert Koch Prize
The Robert Koch Medal and Award are two prizes awarded annually for excellence in the biomedical sciences. These awards grew out of early attempts by Robert Koch to generate funding to support his research into the cause and cure for tuberculosis...
, the Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal
Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal
The Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal is awarded annually by the Sabin Vaccine Institute in recognition of work in the field of vaccinology or a complementary field. It is in commemoration of the pioneering work of Albert B. Sabin.-List of previous recipients:...
, the E. Mead Johnson Award
E. Mead Johnson Award
The E. Mead Johnson Award, given by the Society for Pediatric Research, an affiliate of the American Pediatric Society, was established in 1939 to honor clinical and laboratory research achievements in pediatrics. Awards are funded by Mead Johnson Nutritionals, a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb....
, the Public Health Service's Meritorious Service Medal and Distinguished Service Medal.
NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci
Anthony Fauci
Anthony S. Fauci is an immunologist who has made substantial contributions to research in the areas of AIDS and other immunodeficiencies, both as a scientist and as the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases .-Education and career:Anthony Stephen Fauci was born on...
called Chanock "an outstanding scientist whose innumerable contributions to the understanding of viral diseases helped make the world a healthier place for millions of people".
A resident of Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
, Chanock died at age 86 on July 30, 2010, at an assisted living
Assisted living
Assisted living residences or assisted living facilities provide supervision or assistance with activities of daily living ; coordination of services by outside health care providers; and monitoring of resident activities to help to ensure their health, safety, and well-being.Assistance may...
facility in Sykesville, Maryland
Sykesville, Maryland
Sykesville is a town in Carroll County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,197 at the 2000 census.-History:The land on which Sykesville sits started out as part of a Springfield Estate, owned by wealthy Baltimore shipbuilder William Patterson...
, due to complications of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. He was survived by a son and four grandchildren.