Ellen S. Vitetta is the director of the Cancer Immunobiology Center at the

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 18,800 employees, more than 2,900 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient vi ...

in Dallas.Mak, Tak W. & Mary E. Saudners. ''Primer to the Immune Response.'' Burlington, MA: Academic Press, 2008. ix.

Background

Vitetta earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Connecticut College and advanced degrees at New York University Medical and Graduate Schools.

Career

Vitetta is professor of microbiology and immunology, director of the

Cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Immunobiology 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 ...

Center, and holder of both the Sheryle Simmons Patigian Distinguished Chair in Cancer Immunobiology and a distinguished teaching chair at the

in Dallas. She has published 500 papers, edited several books, and is a co-inventor on 24 issued patents. She is one of the top 100 most cited biomedical scientists in the world. Vitetta is an immunologist who does translational ("bench to bedside") research. She and her colleagues first described IgD on the surface of

murine The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. Members of this subfamily are called murines. In terms of species richness, this subfamily is larger than all mammal families excep ...

B cells B cells, also known as B lymphocytes, are a type of white blood cell of the lymphocyte subtype. They function in the humoral immunity component of the adaptive immune system. B cells produce antibody molecules which may be either secreted or ...

and she was the co-discoverer of

Interleukin-4 The interleukin 4 (IL4, IL-4) is a cytokine that induces differentiation of naive helper T cells ( Th0 cells) to Th2 cells. Upon activation by IL-4, Th2 cells subsequently produce additional IL-4 in a positive feedback loop. IL-4 ...

. Her group demonstrated that IL-4 was a "switch" factor for Ig on B cells. Over the past two decades, she has developed

antibody An antibody (Ab), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique molecule of the ...

-based "biological missiles" to destroy cancer cells and cells infected with HIV. These novel therapeutics have been evaluated in

tissue culture Tissue culture is the growth of tissues or cells in an artificial medium separate from the parent organism. This technique is also called micropropagation. This is typically facilitated via use of a liquid, semi-solid, or solid growth medium, su ...

, in animals and, since 1988, in over 300 humans. In 2001, Dr. Vitetta developed a

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

against

ricin Ricin ( ) is a lectin (a carbohydrate-binding protein) and a highly potent toxin produced in the seeds of the castor oil plant, ''Ricinus communis''. The median lethal dose (LD50) of ricin for mice is around 22 micrograms per kilogram of body ...

, which has been evaluated in the first clinical trial of such a vaccine. Vitetta is 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 ...

, the

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, and ...

, the

Institute of Medicine 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, E ...

and the American Academy of Microbiology. She was the first biomedical scientist from Texas elected to the National Academy of Sciences. She is a founding member R. Franklin Society. She served as president of the American Association of Immunogists in 1994 and received its Mentoring Award in 2002 and its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. In 2006, she was elected to the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. She currently serves on the board of advisors of

Scientists and Engineers for America Scientists and Engineers for America (SEA) was an organization focused on promoting sound science in American government, and supporting candidates who understand science and its applications. SEA was formed on September 27, 2006, and describes it ...

, an organization focused on promoting sound science in American government. Vitetta's former student,

Linda Buck Linda Brown Buck (born January 29, 1947) is an American biologist best known for her work on the olfactory system. She was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with Richard Axel, for their work on olfactory receptors. She ...

, won the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...

in 2004.

Awards and honors

* 2007

American Association of Immunologists Lifetime Achievement Award The American Association of Immunologists Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed by the American Association of Immunologists (AAI). It has been awarded annually to a single AAI member since 1994. Winners Source: See also * Li ...

* TAMEST board of directors (2007) * Texas Women's Hall of Fame (2006) * Institute of Medicine (2006) * American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2003) * Mentoring Award, American Association of Immunologists (2002) * Charlotte Friend Award, American Association for Cancer Research (2002) * Rosenthal Award, American Association for Cancer Research (1995) * President, American Association of Immunologists (1994) * National Academy of Sciences (1994) * FASEB Excellence in Science Award (1991) * American Academy of Microbiology

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitetta, Ellen Connecticut College alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Year of birth missing (living people) American immunologists American women biologists Living people University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center faculty American women academics 21st-century American women Members of the National Academy of Medicine