Thomas Alexander Evelyn Platts-Mills, FRS (born 1941, Colchester) son of British member of parliament and barrister

John Platts-Mills John Faithful Fortescue Platts-Mills, (4 October 1906 – 26 October 2001) was a British barrister and left-wing politician. He was the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Finsbury from 1945 to 1948, when he was expelled from the party effect ...

, is a British

allergy Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic derma ...

researcher and director of the Division of Allergy and Clinical

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 ...

at the

University of Virginia School of Medicine The University of Virginia School of Medicine (UVA SoM) is the graduate medical school of the University of Virginia. The school's facilities are on the University of Virginia grounds adjacent to Academical Village in Charlottesville, Virginia. ...

. Platts-Mills was educated at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. He then went to

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

and

St. Thomas' Hospital Medical School GKT School of Medical Education (abbreviated: GKT) is the medical school of King's College London. The school has campuses at three institutions, Guy's Hospital (Southwark), King's College Hospital (Denmark Hill) and St Thomas' Hospital (Lambeth ...

, received his PhD from

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

, and completed a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

ship at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

under the tutelage of

Kimishige Ishizaka was a Japanese immunologist who, with his wife Teruko Ishizaka, discovered the antibody class Immunoglobulin E (IgE) in 1966–1967. Their work was regarded as a major breakthrough in the understanding of allergy. He was awarded the 1973 Gairdn ...

. He became a member of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

in 1971. From 1975 to 1982, he worked in Britain for the Medical Research Council. Since 1982 he has worked at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

where he has been Professor of Medicine and Microbiology and, since 1993, head of the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. He served as President of the

American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Founded in 1943, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) is a professional medical membership organization of nearly 6,800 allergist/ immunologists and related professionals around the world with advanced training and experien ...

(AAAAI) from March 2006 to March 2007.

Research

Since 1974, Platts-Mills has been active in research on allergic disease and has published more than 350 papers. His research includes the first purification and publication of a

dust mite House dust mites (HDM, or simply dust mites) are various species of acariform mites belonging to the family Pyroglyphidae that are found in association with dust in dwellings. They are known for causing allergies. Biology Species The curren ...

allergen An allergen is a type of antigen that produces an abnormally vigorous immune response in which the immune system fights off a perceived threat that would otherwise be harmless to the body. Such reactions are called allergies. In technical terms ...

in 1978, the development of

immunoassay An immunoassay (IA) is a biochemical test that measures the presence or concentration of a macromolecule or a small molecule in a solution through the use of an antibody (usually) or an antigen (sometimes). The molecule detected by the immunoass ...

s for dust mite allergens, and the establishment that it is mite fecal particles which are inhaled. Platts-Mills has researched the immune response to a range of allergens including those from pollens,

dust mites House dust mites (HDM, or simply dust mites) are various species of acariform mites belonging to the family Pyroglyphidae that are found in association with dust in dwellings. They are known for causing allergies. Biology Species The current ...

, the fungus

Trichophyton ''Trichophyton'' is a genus of fungi, which includes the parasitic varieties that cause tinea, including athlete's foot, ringworm, jock itch, and similar infections of the nail, beard, skin and scalp. Trichophyton fungi are molds characterized ...

, and domestic cats. Platts-Mills is credited with the discovery of the

mammalian meat allergy Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), also known as alpha-gal allergy or mammalian meat allergy (MMA), is a type of acquired meat allergy characterized by a delayed onset of symptoms (3–8 hours) after ingesting mammalian meat. The condition results from pa ...

, after he discovered in 2002 the link between

alpha-gal allergy Alpha-gal allergy — or mammalian meat allergy (MMA) — is a type of meat allergy characterized by a delayed onset of symptoms (3–8 hours) after ingesting mammalian meat and resulting from past exposure to tick bites. It was first reported in ...

and Lone Star tick bites.

Awards

In 2010, his research earned Platts-Mills election as a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

, the first allergist to be named to this select group.http://uvahealth.com/about/news-room/archives/asthma-allergic-diseases-center-director-thomas-platts-mills-md-phd-elected-as-a-fellow-to-the-royal-society/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Platts-Mills, Thomas A.E. Living people University of Virginia School of Medicine faculty Fellows of the Royal Society 1941 births Alumni of University College London