Vaccine Pioneer Maurice Hilleman Dead

04/11/2005

Merck & Co., Inc. recently announced the death of vaccine pioneer Maurice R. Hilleman, Ph.D., D.Sc.

"Dr. Maurice Hilleman created a legacy of accomplishment and achievement that dwarfs that of any other scientist working today. His work has saved literally millions of lives and has protected many millions more from disease," said Adel A. F. Mahmoud, M.D., Ph.D., president, Merck Vaccines. "Dr. Maurice Hilleman is one of the true scientific leaders of our time. His work has helped to protect millions from diseases ranging from pandemic flu to chicken pox, and has revolutionized public health, without question. There are few people alive today - or who have lived in any other age in history - who can say that they helped eliminate a disease and saved millions of lives, not just through their discovery, but through their insistence that the fruits of their labor be brought to all those in need.  Maurice Hilleman is one of those very few."

"Maurice Hilleman will be historically remembered as THE vaccinologist of the 20th century. His name will be joined forever with people like Pasteur and Koch in the story of man's strivings against pathogens. He was and will continue to be an inspiration to medical scientists seeking ways of using science for the benefit of people. He and Merck made 'great music' together and made history," said Robert C. Gallo, M.D., director, Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, University of Maryland Baltimore.

Dr. Hilleman joined Merck on New Year's Eve, 1957, as director of a new Department of Virus and Cell Biology research, and retired from Merck in 1984 as senior vice president. At the time of his death, Dr. Hilleman was Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. From 1948 to 1957, he was chief, Department of Respiratory Diseases, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC. In 1951, he was a visiting investigator at the Hospital of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research.  Dr. Hilleman received his D.Sc. degree from Montana State University in 1941, and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1944.  He holds several honorary doctorate degrees from U.S. and foreign universities.

In his long career, Dr. Hilleman pioneered the development of numerous vaccines for disease including measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, Marek's Disease, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, adenoviruses and the evolution of vaccines against meningitis and pneumonia. In addition to these contributions, Dr. Hilleman was also a co-discoverer of the adenoviruses, and discovered changes in the flu virus known as "drift." By monitoring these changes, public health agencies now track new flu viruses and create vaccines to prevent them.

Dr. Hilleman has been credited with developing more vaccines than any person and is recognized for having changed the face of the world in providing the means to prevent and control a number of its most important diseases. He published over 500 original articles in the fields of virology, immunology, epidemiology and infectious diseases.

He served on numerous national and international advisory boards and committees, academic, governmental and private. These include the National Institutes of Health's Office of AIDS Research Program Evaluation and the National Vaccine Advisory Committee of the National Vaccine Program. He was been a member of the Expert Advisory Panel of the World Health Organization, Geneva, since 1952.

Dr. Hilleman was an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Science; the Institute of Medicine; the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and the American Philosophical Society. Dr. Hilleman received the National Medal of Science from President Ronald Reagan and the Prince Mahidol Award from the King of Thailand for the advancement of public health. He also received a special lifetime achievement award from the World Health Organization, the Lasker Medical Research Award and the Sabin Gold Medal and Lifetime Achievement Awards. Last month, The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine's Department of Pediatrics and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), in collaboration with The Merck Company Foundation, announced the creation of The Maurice R. Hilleman Chair in Vaccinology.