Ellen Vitetta | |
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| Nationality | American |
| Education | Connecticut College New York University |
| Occupation(s) | Professor of Microbiology and Immunology |
| Known for | Director of the Cancer Immunobiology Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas |
Ellen S. Vitetta is the director of the Cancer Immunobiology Center at theUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.[1][2]
Vitetta earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Connecticut College and advanced degrees at New York University Medical and Graduate Schools.[3]
Vitetta is a professor of microbiology and immunology, the director of theCancerImmunobiology Center, and holds both the Sheryle Simmons Patigian Distinguished Chair in Cancer Immunobiology and a distinguished teaching chair at theUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. She has published 500 papers, edited several books, and is a co-inventor on 24 issued patents. She is recognized as one of the top 100 most cited biomedical scientists in the world.[3][4]
Vitetta is animmunologist who conducts translational ("bench to bedside") research.[1][5] Along with her colleagues, she was the first to describeIgD on the surface ofmurineB cells and co-discoveredInterleukin-4.[1] Her research group demonstrated that IL-4 acted as a "switch" factor for Ig on B cells. Over the past two decades, she has developedantibody-based "biological missiles" to target and eliminate cancer cells and cells infected with HIV. These innovative therapeutics have been extensively studied intissue culture, animal models, and, since 1988, in over 300 human subjects.[1] In 2001, Vitetta successfully developed avaccine againstricin, which underwent evaluation in the first clinical trial of its kind.[6][7]
Vitetta is a member of theNational Academy of Sciences, theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences, theInstitute of Medicine and the American Academy of Microbiology. She was the first biomedical scientist from Texas elected to the National Academy of Sciences.[6] She is a founding member R. Franklin Society. She served as president of theAmerican Association of Immunologists in 1994[4] and received its Mentoring Award in 2002 and its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.[4] In 2006, she was elected to the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. She currently serves on the board of advisors ofScientists and Engineers for America, an organization focused on promoting sound science in American government.
Vitetta's former student,Linda Buck, won theNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2004.
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