Arthur J. Ammann (August 12, 1936 – August 15, 2021) was an American pediatric immunologist and advocate known for his research on

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

transmission, discovering transmission and the risk of contaminated transfusions and blood products, and his role in the development of the first successful

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...

to prevent pneumococcal infection in 1977. He founded Global Strategies for HIV Prevention and was Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the

UCSF Medical Center The University of California, San Francisco Medical Center is a research and teaching hospital in San Francisco, California and is the medical center of the University of California, San Francisco. It is affiliated with the UCSF School of Medi ...

."The Littlest Index Case: How Pediatric Patients in San Francisco Helped Decode HIV/AIDS"
Nairi Strauch. Stanford Journal of Public Health. Retrieved May 21, 2012. Published February 8, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2012.

Education

Ammann was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, to

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

parents, neither of whom finished

grade school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

."Pioneering Pediatrician Leads Charge to Cut Infant HIV Infections."
Jan Sluizer. Voice of America. Retrieved May 21, 2012. He graduated from

Brooklyn Technical High School Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is an elite public high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is one of th ...

and attended

Wheaton College Wheaton College may refer to: * Wheaton College (Illinois), a private Christian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois * Wheaton College (Massachusetts) Wheaton College is a private liberal arts college in Norton, Massachus ...

in Illinois, continuing on to study medicine at

New Jersey Medical School New Jersey Medical School (NJMS)—also known as Rutgers New Jersey Medical School—is a medical school of Rutgers University, a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. It has been part of the Rutgers Division of Biomedical and Health ...

, where he received his

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

in 1962."Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Awards"
New Jersey College of Medicine. Retrieved May 22, 2012. Ammann later became the first pediatric immunologist at UCSF, where he served his residency in pediatrics."Eminent Doctor Chooses Service Over Retirement."
Alice C. Chen. SF Gate. Retrieved May 21, 2012.

Research

Early research

In 1966, for the first time, Ammann and Richard E. Stiehm documented Immunoglobulin A (IgA) as the major

immunoglobulin An antibody (Ab), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique molecule of the ...

class in

breastmilk Breast milk (sometimes spelled as breastmilk) or mother's milk is milk produced by mammary glands located in the breast of a human female. Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborns, containing fat, protein, carbohydrates (lactos ...

, present in high concentrations in colostrum mature breastmilk. They postulated that the protection afforded to infants by breast-feeding was a result of exposure to local antibodies contained within IgA rather than absorption of maternal antibody into these infants circulation."Immune globulin levels in colostrum and breast milk and serum from formula and breast-fed newborns."
Proc Soc Exp Biol Med, 122:1098-1100, 1966. Ammann, Stiehm and James D. Cherry identified that there are elevated levels of

Immunoglobulin M Immunoglobulin M (IgM) is one of several isotypes of antibody (also known as immunoglobulin) that are produced by vertebrates. IgM is the largest antibody, and it is the first antibody to appear in the response to initial exposure to an antig ...

(IgM) in the cord blood of newborn infants born with the congenital rubella syndrome. This was a major step forward in understanding the fetal immune response and developing diagnostic tools to differentiate between in utero infection with infectious agents such as

rubella Rubella, also known as German measles or three-day measles, is an infection caused by the rubella virus. This disease is often mild, with half of people not realizing that they are infected. A rash may start around two weeks after exposure and ...

toxoplasmosis Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by ''Toxoplasma gondii'', an apicomplexan. Infections with toxoplasmosis are associated with a variety of neuropsychiatric and behavioral conditions. Occasionally, people may have a few weeks or months ...

and

cytomegalovirus ''Cytomegalovirus'' (''CMV'') (from ''cyto-'' 'cell' via Greek - 'container' + 'big, megalo-' + -''virus'' via Latin 'poison') is a genus of viruses in the order ''Herpesvirales'', in the family ''Herpesviridae'', in the subfamily ''Betaherpe ...

from infections acquired following birth."Elevated cord macroglobulins in the diagnosis of intrauterine infections."
NEJM, 275:971-977, 1966. In 1973, Ammann led his research team to perform the first successful reconstitution of

T-cell A T cell is a type of lymphocyte. T cells are one of the important white blood cells of the immune system and play a central role in the adaptive immune response. T cells can be distinguished from other lymphocytes by the presence of a T-cell rec ...

immunity in a patient with severe combined

immunodeficiency Immunodeficiency, also known as immunocompromisation, is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious diseases and cancer is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases are acquired ("secondary") due to extrinsic factors that a ...

. This was achieved through fetal thymus transplantation. This study demonstrated that the

thymus The thymus is a specialized primary lymphoid organ of the immune system. Within the thymus, thymus cell lymphocytes or ''T cells'' mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts to specific foreign invaders. ...

holds only the potential of developing T cells and will not result in reconstitution of

B cell B cells, also known as B lymphocytes, are a type of white blood cell of the lymphocyte subtype. They function in the humoral immunity component of the adaptive immune system. B cells produce antibody molecules which may be either secreted or ...

immunity as was subsequently shown by others who utilized bone marrow transplantation, which contained multi-potential stem cells. Thymus transplantation. Permanent reconstitution of cellular immunity in a patient with sex-linked combined immunodeficiency.
NEJM, 275:971–977, 1966. Working with E. R. Giblett in 1972, Ammann described the first patient with

purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency Purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive metabolic disorder which results in immunodeficiency. Signs and symptoms In addition to the symptoms associated with immunodeficiency, such as depletion of T-cells, decline ...

in association with a unique genetic profile that included depressed T-cell immunity with normal levels of immunoglobulins. The resulting publication was listed as one of the 500 most widely cited articles in 1984. Ammann's discovery represented an essential step to understanding new treatments for immunodeficiency diseases and developing drugs that could interfere with the

immune response An immune response is a reaction which occurs within an organism for the purpose of defending against foreign invaders. These invaders include a wide variety of different microorganisms including viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi which could ...

.Giblett ER, Ammann AJ, Sandman R, Wara DW, Diamond LK. "Nucleoside-phosphorylase deficiency in a child with severely defective T-cell immunity and normal B-cell immunity". ''The Lancet'', 1:2020–1014, 1975.

Pneumococcal vaccine

From 1971 to 1985, Ammann was director of Pediatric Immunology and Clinical Research Center at UCSF. It was during this period that Ammann performed a series of

clinical trials Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...

aimed at protecting children with sickle cell anemia and the elderly from pneumococcal

infection An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

, a bacterium that causes fatal

. He and his

colleagues Collegiality is the relationship between colleagues. A colleague is a fellow member of the same profession. Colleagues are those explicitly united in a common purpose and respect each other's abilities to work toward that purpose. A colleague is ...

were successful in creating the first U.S.

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

-approved

effective against the

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

; it granted individuals

immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity desc ...

against a life-threatening

."Marin Doctor Cited on Sickle Cell Work" George Nevin. Independent Journal. Published October 27, 1977. Ammann's vaccine has since been expanded and its

immunogenicity Immunogenicity is the ability of a foreign substance, such as an antigen, to provoke an immune response in the body of a human or other animal. It may be wanted or unwanted: * Wanted immunogenicity typically relates to vaccines, where the injectio ...

has been improved, increasing the effectiveness of the vaccine in young

infants An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

. This discovery has saved the lives of millions"Dr. Arthur Ammann M.D
Global Strategies for HIV Prevention
Retrieved May 22, 2012. of individuals by preventing pneumococcal infection, particularly in children and the elderly.

HIV transmission and treatment

In 1981, while working at UCSF in a lab that could perform the immunologic tests needed to detect

in AIDS patients, Ammann observed immunodeficiency disorders in children that mirrored those of gay men who had contracted the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Ammann's investigations into the cause of the

symptoms Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an disease, illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormali ...

led him to identify two new means of

transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...

, mother to infant and blood transfusions. With the medical community wanting not to believe that AIDS could affect infants, Ammann's initial publication blood transfusion infection was rejected by prominent medical journals. This discovery changed the perception of HIV/AIDS as an

epidemic An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics ...

solely within the gay community. In 1985, Ammann left his position at UCSF in order to work with the

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

firm,

Genentech Genentech, Inc., is an American biotechnology corporation headquartered in South San Francisco, California. It became an independent subsidiary of Roche in 2009. Genentech Research and Early Development operates as an independent center within R ...

. There he developed clinical products focused on HIV/AIDS,"Honored Physician an Expert in HIV/AIDS Transmission and Treatment."
Viral Genetics, Inc. Retrieved May 23, 2012. and although while with Genentech a successful vaccine was not developed,"AIDS: Our Samaritan Call."
Katherine Halberstadt Anderson. Wheaton Magazine. Spring 2003. the discoveries made by Ammann's research team were used by other researchers in a partially successful study performed in Thailand in 2009.HIV Vaccine Trial Results — An Opening for Further Research
Raphael Dolin, M.D. N Engl J Med 2009; 361:2279-2280 In 1994, Ammann was selected to become a member of the Presidential National AIDS Task Force on Drug and Vaccine Development."Arthur J. Ammann, MD"
International Antiviral Society-USA. Retrieved May 24, 2012. Three years later, in 1996, he was recognized by '' POZ'' magazine as one of the fifty most influential

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

researchers.

Advocacy

Ammann spent much of his life fighting injustices within the

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

system, nationally and internationally. From 1992 to 1996 he served as director of research programs for the

Pediatric AIDS Foundation The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing pediatric HIV infection and eliminating pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, and prevention and treatment programs. Founded in 1988, ...

. Ammann was also the chairman of the Conference on Global Strategies for Prevention of HIV Transmission from Mothers to Infants. Ammann became a member of the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR) Board of directors in 1988, and was also appointed chairman of the AmFAR scientific advisory committee."A Message from the Foundation; AmFAR's New President, Dr. Arthur J. Ammann, Shares His Vision for the Future of AIDS Research." The AmFAR Newsletter. Spring 1997. Volume 2. From 1997 to 1998 Ammann served as president of AmFAR. In these positions, Ammann fought for an increase in research funding in HIV, in particular for women and children, and the development of more cost-effective treatments."Spotlight On: American Foundation for AIDS Research."
Nancy Lazar. Children's Legal Rights Journal. Volume 13, No. 2, Spring 1998. Retrieved May 22, 2012. In 1997, Ammann founded Global Strategies for HIV Prevention."Saving Lives, 85 Cents at a Time." Update, New York Academy of Sciences Magazine. November/December 2002. Page 11. In his position as president, Ammann advocated for the needs of the most marginalized populations that are affected by the HIV epidemic. The organization is aimed at helping to prevent HIV

from mothers to infants in order to slow the spread of the HIV virus.

Death

Ammann died in

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), ...

, on August 15, 2021, three days after his 85th birthday.

Selected awards and honors

* 1977

E. Mead Johnson Award The E. Mead Johnson Award, given by the Society for Pediatric Research, was established in 1939 to honor clinical and laboratory research achievements in pediatrics. The awards are funded by Mead Johnson, Mead Johnson Nutritionals, a subsidiary of ...

for Pediatric Research, New York, NY. * 1987 Distinguished Alumnus Award, New Jersey College of Medicine, Newark, NJ. * 1994 Selected as one of "The POZ 50," individuals who have most influenced the course of HIV/AIDS. * 1995 AmFAR's Outstanding Research in Pediatric AIDS Award. Presented on World's AIDS Day. * 2000 American Society of Microbiology Heroes in Medicine Award * 2001 Research in Action Award. Presented by Treatment Action Group. December 8, 2001. New York, NY. * 2007 Wheaton College Outstanding Alumnus Award for Service to Humanity * 2010/2011 Purpose Prize Fellow Encore Career for continued dedication to issues of justice and equity. * 2013 Bakken Invitation Honoree.

Selected publications

*Ammann AJ and Stiehm ER
Immune Globulin Levels in Colostrum and Breast Milk, and Serum From Formula- and Breast-Fed Newborns.
Proc Soc Exp Biol Med, 122:1098-1100, 1966. *Stiehm ER, Ammann AJ, Cherry JD
Elevated cord macroglobulins in the diagnosis of intrauterine infections.
NEJM, 275:971-977, 1966. *Ammann AJ, Wara D, Salmon S, Perkins H. Thymus transplantation
Thymus Transplantation — Permanent Reconstitution of Cellular Immunity in a Patient with Sex-Linked Combined Immunodeficiency.
NEJM, 289:5-9, 1973. *Wara DW, Goldstein AL, Doyle NE, Ammann AJ
Thymosin Activity in Patients with Cellular Immunodeficiency.
NEJM, 292:70-74, 1975. (One of the 500 most widely quoted articles in 1980

*Giblett ER, Ammann AJ, Sandman R, Wara DW, Diamond LK
Nucleoside-phosphorylase deficiency in a child with severely defective T-cell immunity and normal B-cell immunity.
Lancet, 1:2020-1014, 1975. (One of the 500 most widely quoted articles in 1984

*Ammann AJ, Addiego J, Wara DW, Lubin B, Smith WB, Mentzer WC
Polyvalent pneumococcal-polysaccharide immunization of patients with sickle-cell anemia and patients with splenectomy.
NEJM, 297:897-900, 1977. *Ammann AJ, Cowan MJ, Wara DW, Weintrub P, Dritz S, Goldman H, Perkins HA
Acquired immunodeficiency in an infant: Possible transmission by means of blood products.
Lancet, 1:956-958, 1983. *Curran TW, Lawrence DN, Jaffe HS, Kaplan JE, Zyla LD, Chamberland M, Weinstein R, Lui KJ, Schonberger LB, Spira TJ, Alexander WJ, Swinger G, Ammann AJ, Solomon S, Auerbach D, Mildvan D, Stoneburner R, Jason JM, Haverkos HW, Evat BL
Acquired immunodeficiency associated with transfusions
NEJM, 310:69-75, 1984. *Cowan MJ, Hellmann D, Chudwin D, Wara DW, Chang RS, Ammann AJ
Maternal transmission of acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
Pediat, 73:382-386, 1984. *Cao Y, Krogstad P, Korber BT, Koup RA, Muldoon M, Macken C, Song J-L, Jin Z, Zhao J-Q, Clapp S, Chen ISY, Ho DD., Ammann AJ and the Ariel Project Investigators
Maternal HIV-1 viral load and vertical transmission of infection: The Ariel Project for the prevention of HIV transmission from mother to infant.
Nature Medicine 3: 549-552 1997. *Ammann AJ
HIV in China: An Opportunity to Halt an Emerging Epidemic.
Ammann AJ AIDS Patient Care and STDs 14:109-112, 2000. *Ammann AJ
Introduction to the Second Conference on Global Strategies for the Prevention of HIV Transmission from Mothers to Infants.
Annals NY Academy of Sciences 918:1-2, 2000. *Kim JY, Ammann AJ
Is the "3 by 5" initiative the best approach to tackling the HIV pandemic?
PLoS Med. 2004 Nov;1(2):e37. Epub 2004 Nov 30. *Ammann AJ
Feminization of the HIV Epidemic.
Radix 32:8-13 2006 *Ammann AJ
Advances in HIV Care and Treatment in Resource Poor Countries.
HIV Therapy. 2009 3:329-338.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ammann, Arthur J. 1936 births 2021 deaths American pediatricians American immunologists Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Rutgers University alumni Scientists from Brooklyn American people of German descent University of California, San Francisco faculty