Bernard Nathan Fields (March 24, 1938 in Brooklyn, New York — January 31, 1995, West Newtown, Massachusetts) was an American

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...

and

virologist Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, their ...

. Fields was a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, 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 Nati ...

. Fields was the Adele Lehman Professor and chairman of the department of microbiology and molecular genetics of

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

, and he was the head of division of infectious diseases at the

Brigham and Women's Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts Gener ...

in Boston. Prior to that, he was on the faculty at the

Albert Einstein College of Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a research-intensive medical school located in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. Founded in 1953, Einstein operates as an independent degree-granting institution as part of t ...

. He was the editor-in-chief of the journal ''

Virology Virology is the Scientific method, scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host (biology), ...

''. He was the founding senior editor of a textbook first published in 1985 as ""Virology'', that then was renamed eponymously for him as ''

Fields Virology ''Fields Virology'' is an English-language virology textbook, originally it was published in two volumes and edited by Bernard N. Fields. The first edition in 1985 was called ''Virology'', but from the second edition, the book's title was changed ...

''. Its sixth edition was published in 2013. The seventh edition, is planned to include four volumes, with volume 1 published in 2020. While memorializing Field in 1995,

Harold Varmus Harold Eliot Varmus (born December 18, 1939) is an American Nobel Prize-winning scientist. He is currently the Lewis Thomas University Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and a senior associate at the New York Genome Center. He was a ...

, M.D., director of the National Institutes of Health, called Fields "the intellectual leader of the field for more than the last decade". In his obituary, The New York Times said that Fields "is credited with spearheading the current resurgence of research on how viruses cause damage". The

National Academies Press The US National Academies Press (NAP) was created to publish the reports issued by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Research C ...

called him "a recognized leader in the field of

viral pathogenesis Viral pathogenesis is the study of the process and mechanisms by which viruses cause diseases in their target hosts, often at the cellular or molecular level. It is a specialized field of study in virology. Pathogenesis is a qualitative descriptio ...

" and said Fields will "be remembered for emphasizing the importance of basic research in the area of clinical medicine and in helping to define molecular parameters that affect disease". Fields died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

at the age of 56.

Awards and distinctions

* 1962 Founders' Day Award, New York University School of Medicine * 1974–1979 Irma T. Hirschl Scholar Award * 1974 Twelfth Annual Redway Medal (with Cedric Raine) * 1974–1975 Career Scientist, Health Research Council of New York * 1982 Solomon A. Berson Alumni Achievement Award, New York University School of Medicine * 1982 Wellcome Lecturer, American Society of Microbiology * 1983 Lippard Lecturer, Columbia University * 1984 Thayer Lecturer, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine * 1987 Dyer Lecturer, National Institutes of Health * 1987–1995 Merit Award, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases * 1989 Niels Dungal Memorial Lecturer, University of Iceland, Reykjavik * 1991 Dudley Wright Lecturer, Arolla, Switzerland * 1992 Alumni Achievement Award, Brandeis University

Career

Fields received his A.B. degree at

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

. He received his M.D. degree in 1962 from

New York University School of Medicine NYU Grossman School of Medicine is a medical school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1841 and is one of two medical schools of the university, with the other being the Long Island School of ...

. * 1965–1966 medical virologist, virology section – National Communicable Disease Center, Atlanta, Georgia * 1966–1967 assistant chief, arbovirus infectious unit – National Communicable Disease Center, Atlanta, Georgia * 1967–1968 postdoctoral fellow, department of cell biology –

* 1968–1969 associate, departments of medicine and cell biology – Albert Einstein College of Medicine * 1969–1971 assistant professor, departments of medicine and cell biology – Albert Einstein College of Medicine * 1971–1975 associate professor, departments of medicine and cell biology – Albert Einstein College of Medicine * 1975–1994 professor of microbiology and molecular genetics –

* 1981–1994 professor of medicine – Harvard Medical School * 1982–1994 chairman, department of microbiology and molecular genetics – Harvard Medical School * 1984–1994 Adele H. Lehman Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics – Harvard Medical School * 1976–1994 associate editor – Journal of Infectious Diseases * 1977–1977 visiting professor – Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

References

External links

Sondra Schlesinger, "Bernard N. Fields", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (1997)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fields, Bernard N. 1938 births 1995 deaths American microbiologists American virologists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 20th-century American physicians Brandeis University alumni Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts Deaths from pancreatic cancer Members of the National Academy of Medicine