Shane Patrick Crotty (born 26 January 1974) is a professor of
immunology
Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...
in the Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research at
La Jolla Institute for Immunology
La Jolla Institute for Immunology is a non-profit research organization located in La Jolla, California. It is located in UC San Diego’s Research Park. The institute researches immunology and immune system diseases. The institute employs 220 M.D ...
.
Education and academic posts
Crotty completed
B.S.
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degrees in Biology and Writing from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
in 1996.
[ He then completed his ]Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
in 2001 at the University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It cond ...
with Raul Andino
Raul Andino is a virologist and professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of California, San Francisco. He is noted for leading a team of researchers that developed the first new oral polio vaccine in 50 years ...
.[
Crotty went on to a ]postdoctoral fellowship
A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...
from 2001 to 2003 with Rafi Ahmed
Rafi Ahmed (born 1948 in Hyderabad, India) is an Indian-American virologist and immunologist. He is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Emory University, where he is also the director of the Emory Vaccine Cente ...
at Emory University Vaccine Center studying immunity to viruses.[ He joined the ]La Jolla Institute for Immunology
La Jolla Institute for Immunology is a non-profit research organization located in La Jolla, California. It is located in UC San Diego’s Research Park. The institute researches immunology and immune system diseases. The institute employs 220 M.D ...
(LJI) in 2003, as well as the department of medicine of University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
, in 2004 as an adjunct assistant professor. He became an associate member with tenure at LJI in 2009, and then a tenured professor.
Research
Crotty's research has focused on immune responses to viral infections, in particular those driven by vaccines. His lab has done major work on the regulation and proliferation of follicular helper T cells, as well as immunological protection from 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 ...
infection and HIV vaccine delivery strategy. In close collaboration with Alessandro Sette
Alessandro Sette is an Italian immunologist. He was born on August 11, 1960, in Rome, Italy, to Pietro Sette, a prominent Italian businessman and politician, and Renata Sette. Sette is a professor at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI). He ...
, Crotty published the first detailed analysis of the human immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and later confirmed that the adaptive immune response
The adaptive immune system, also known as the acquired immune system, is a subsystem of the immune system that is composed of specialized, systemic cells and processes that eliminate pathogens or prevent their growth. The acquired immune system ...
is lasting.
In 2020, Crotty joined the LJI Coronavirus Taskforce to study immune system responses with an aim of informing vaccines and therapies against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a ...
. His lab studies the adaptive immune response against SARS-CoV-2. In May 2020, his lab co-published the first detailed analysis of how the immune system responds to SARS-CoV-2, with LJI Professor Alessandro Sette
Alessandro Sette is an Italian immunologist. He was born on August 11, 1960, in Rome, Italy, to Pietro Sette, a prominent Italian businessman and politician, and Renata Sette. Sette is a professor at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI). He ...
. This research suggested that the human body may be capable of long-term immunity to SARS-CoV-2 following infection or vaccine administration. Crotty has since published research showing that "uncoordinated" immune cell responses are related to COVID-19 case severity. His lab has also collaborated with Sette to show that T cells that react to common cold coronaviruses can also recognize SARS-CoV-2. Crotty has warned that this T-cell immunity does not equal protection against the virus.
Major publications
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Other publications
Crotty is also the author of a biography of David Baltimore
David Baltimore (born March 7, 1938) is an American biologist, university administrator, and 1975 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine. He is President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Technolo ...
entitled ''Ahead of the Curve''. He is the co-editor with Rafi Ahmed of ''Immune Memory and Vaccines: Great Debates''.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Crotty, Shane
1974 births
Living people
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
University of California, San Francisco alumni
American immunologists
American virologists