Peter Jay Hotez (born May 5, 1958) is an American scientist, pediatrician, and advocate in the fields of

global health Global health is the health of the populations in the worldwide context; it has been defined as "the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide". Problem ...

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

, and

neglected tropical disease Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of tropical disease, tropical infections that are common in low-income populations in Developing country, developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. They are caused by a variety ...

control. He serves as founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology at

Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate S ...

, where he is also Director of the

Texas Children's Hospital Texas Children's Hospital is a nationally ranked, freestanding 973-bed, acute care women's and children's hospital located in Houston, Texas. It is the primary pediatric teaching hospital affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine and is located wit ...

Center for Vaccine Development and Texas Children's Hospital Endowed Chair in Tropical Pediatrics, and University Professor of Biology at Baylor College of Medicine. Hotez served previously as president of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and is a founding Editor-in-Chief of '' PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases''. He is also the co-director of Parasites Without Borders, a global nonprofit organization with a focus on those suffering from parasitic diseases in subtropical environments.

Early life and education

Hotez was born in

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, to a Jewish family. His father Edward J. Hotez was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

veteran in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Growing up in

West Hartford West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquially known as "West Hartford Center," or simply "The ...

, Hotez graduated from Hall High School in West Hartford. He received a BA in molecular biophysics and

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

'' magna cum laude'' (

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

) from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1980, a PhD from Rockefeller University in 1986, and a Doctorate in Medicine from

Weill Cornell Medical College The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with N ...

in 1987. His doctoral dissertation and postdoctoral training were in the areas of hookworm molecular pathogenesis and vaccine development.

Research and career

Early research

Hotez was awarded postdoctoral positions in molecular parasitology and pediatric infectious diseases at Yale University School of Medicine, where he subsequently became an assistant professor in 1992 and an associate professor in 1995. His early research focused on the

pathogenesis Pathogenesis is the process by which a disease or disorder develops. It can include factors which contribute not only to the onset of the disease or disorder, but also to its progression and maintenance. The word comes from Greek πάθος ''pat ...

and molecular mechanisms of human hookworm

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 dis ...

that eventually lead to his patented

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

now in clinical trials, as well as a vaccine against schistosomiasis, also in clinical trials, either of which could be the first successful vaccine for humans to protect against a multi-cellular

parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

Neglected tropical diseases

From 2000 to 2011, Hotez served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Tropical Medicine (renamed in 2005 as the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine) at the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

. Following the World Health Organization's (WHO)

Millennium Development Goals The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millenn ...

in 2000, Hotez, along with Drs. Alan Fenwick and David Molyneux, led a global effort to rename diseases then being termed simply "other diseases," as "neglected tropical diseases" (NTDs), and promoting the use of therapeutic/preventive chemotherapy through a combination of drugs called the "rapid-impact package." Hotez has advocated for increased efforts to control NTDs since 2005 through publications and speaking engagements, helping to gain increased awareness resulting in a decrease of prevalence and disease burden in many areas. During these years, Hotez also led the Sabin Vaccine Institute in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, as well as efforts to establish '' PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases'', the first online open access medical journal focused exclusively on neglected tropical diseases.

Vaccine development

In addition to continuing work on vaccines already in clinical trials for hookworm and schistosomiasis, Hotez currently leads a team of researchers developing vaccines against other diseases including leishmaniasis, Chagas disease,

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''seve ...

, and

MERS Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory infection caused by ''Middle East respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus'' (MERS-CoV). Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. Typical symptoms include fever, cough, ...

, and is also working in development of a Coronavirus vaccine. With Maria Elena Bottazzi, he led the team that designed COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax.

COVID-19 response

Hotez has actively used his public profile on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

and other social media platforms to help combat misinformation about the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. He has also appeared as an invited expert in a number of cable news and radio shows. In an interview with the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016. The AMA's sta ...

, Hotez noted that communicating clear messages about the ongoing pandemic is of vital importance in an environment that is rife with confusing and misleading messages. "We’ve been hearing either the sky was falling or there was no problem... the reality is more nuanced than that and that requires some explanation based on scientific principles." Hotez has also warned that contrary to popular belief, more young adults than expected would be hospitalized due to the outbreak of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

: "The message is that we’ve been trying to appeal to younger adults and have them shelter away and do the social distancing and explaining why they’re at risk for transmitting the virus to vulnerable populations." Hotez has also warned against optimistic COVID-19 vaccine timelines, arguing that rushing through the conservative timeline could cause problems, "potentially mak ngindividuals worse and threaten ngvaccine development in the U.S." On August 7, 2020, he said in a television interview that the US can expect to be affected by COVID-19 for "years and years" even after Americans are vaccinated. In that interview, he also blamed the federal government for not taking action to contain the spread of the virus.

Awards and memberships

Selected awards and memberships include: *2018 – Elected member,

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) 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, a ...

*2017 –

Carlos Slim Carlos Slim Helú (; born 28 January 1940) is a Mexican business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world by the '' Forbes'' business magazine. He derived his fortune from h ...

Foundation Health Award *2017 – The Distinguished Achievement Award from

B'nai B'rith International B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peop ...

for a lifetime of accomplishments in science and public health. *2003 – The Bailey K. Ashford Medal from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene for distinguished work in tropical medicine. *1999 – Henry Baldwin Ward Medal from the American Society of Parasitologists for outstanding contributions to the field of parasitology. In 2008, he was elected to membership in the

Institute of Medicine of the National Academies The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Eng ...

. He is an ambassador of the Paul G. Rogers Society for Global Health Research, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (FAAP), a member of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee for WHO TDR (Special Programme on Tropical Diseases Research), and in 2011, Hotez was appointed as a member of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Council of Councils. He is a member of the inaugural class of Fellows of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Publications and media

Scientific output

Hotez is the author of more than 500 scientific and technical papers on NTDs. He is a co-editor of ''Krugman's Infectious Diseases of Children, 11th Edition'', and co-editor of ''Manson's Tropical Diseases, 23rd Edition'' and ''Feigin and Cherry's Textbook of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, 7th Edition''. He is the co-author of the reference work called ''Parasitic Diseases, 5th Edition''.

Outreach

Hotez writes frequently for lay audiences, including papers in ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it ...

'' and op-ed pieces for

the New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

. He is the author of ''Blue Marble Health: An Innovative Plan to Fight Diseases of the Poor amid Wealth'' and ''Forgotten People, Forgotten Diseases: The Neglected Tropical Diseases and Their Impact on Global Health and Development''. In 2021 Hotez published a new book titled ''Preventing the Next Pandemic – Vaccine Diplomacy in a Time of Anti-science''.

References

External links

Parasitic Diseases, 7th Edition

Parasites Without Borders

Official website

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hotez, Peter 1958 births Living people George Washington University faculty Rockefeller University alumni Yale University alumni Harvard Medical School people Vaccinologists Weill Cornell Medical College alumni People from West Hartford, Connecticut Jewish American scientists People from Houston People from Hartford, Connecticut Hall High School (Connecticut) alumni Presidents of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Members of the National Academy of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine faculty