Vaccines: facing complex problems with the promise of immunology

Abstract

Highly renowned in the vaccines world, Stanley A. Plotkin has worked at many leading institutions throughout his career, and is Emeritus Professor of the University of Pennsylvania and Adjunct Professor of the Johns Hopkins University. In 1991, Plotkin joined Sanofi Pasteur and worked there from 1991 to 1997, and now works as principal of Vaxconsult, LLC as a consultant to vaccine manufacturers, biotechnology companies and non-profit research organizations. Plotkin has served as chairman of the Infectious Diseases Committee and the AIDS Task Force of the American Academy of Pediatrics, liaison member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and Chairman of the Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research Committee of the National Institutes of Health. He has been a recipient of numerous prestigious medals and awards throughout his career, and his bibliography includes over 700 articles and several books, including the standard textbook on vaccines. He has worked extensively on the development and application of many vaccines including anthrax, oral polio, rabies, varicella and cytomegalovirus. He is also codeveloper of the newly licensed pentavalent rotavirus and is well-known for developing the rubella vaccine, now in standard use throughout the world.