Purnell Whittington Choppin (July 4, 1929 – July 3, 2021) was an American

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 ...

. He served on the faculty of

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It is classif ...

for nearly thirty years, becoming the

Leon Hess Leon Hess (March 14, 1914 – May 7, 1999) was an American businessman, the founder of the Hess Corporation and the owner of the New York Jets. Hess built an oil terminal in New Jersey after the Great Depression, building his first refinery i ...

Professor of Virology. He moved to the

Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, fil ...

in 1985, became the president of the institute in 1987, and retired in 1999, succeeded by Thomas Cech. Until his death in 2021, he was the chair of the Scientific Advisory Board at the Center for the Study of

Hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...

, supported by a university consortium consisting of Rockefeller,

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 NewY ...

, and

New York-Presbyterian Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools, Cornell University and Columbia University. The hospital comprises seven distinct campuses located in the New Y ...

Early life and education

Choppin was born on July 4, 1929, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He attended

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

at Louisiana State University and received an M.D. in 1953. Before beginning his independent research career, Choppin did his internship and

residency Residency may refer to: * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place ** Permanent residency, indefinite residence within a country despite not having citizenship * Residency (medicine), a stage of postgrad ...

at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes Hospital in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. He also served as a medical officer in the United States Air Force.

Academic career

Choppin began work at Rockefeller in 1957 as a research fellow and joined the faculty there in 1959, heading a virology research program focused on the influenza virus. He became a full professor and senior physician at Rockefeller in 1970, and served in various administrative roles including the vice president of academic programs and the dean of graduate studies. In 1985 Choppin moved from his position as the

Professor of Virology at Rockefeller to the

, where he served as vice president and chief scientific officer. He assumed the presidency in 1987, succeeding

Donald Fredrickson Donald Sharp "Don" Fredrickson (August 8, 1924 – June 7, 2002) was an American medical researcher, principally of the lipid and cholesterol metabolism, and director of National Institutes of Health and subsequently the Howard Hughes Medical ...

. During his presidency, both the institute's budget and its number of scientists increased dramatically. Choppin retired from HHMI at the end of 1999, succeeded by Thomas Cech. Choppin became 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 ...

in 1977. He received the University of Chicago's Howard Taylor Ricketts Award in 1978 and the National Academy of Sciences'

Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology The Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "in recognition of excellence in the field of microbiology." Named after Selman Waksman, it was first awarded in 1968. A $5000 prize is included in t ...

in 1984. In the early 1980s, Choppin was among the group of American virologists who helped organize and became the founding members of the American Society for Virology. He was elected to both the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1988.

References

External links

Yellow Fever, A Success Story
- 2013 talk by Purnell Choppin at a meeting of the American Philosophical Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Choppin, Purnell W. 1929 births 2021 deaths American virologists Louisiana State University alumni Rockefeller University faculty People from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the American Philosophical Society Members of the National Academy of Medicine