One of the most influential scientists in the
field of immunology, Max Cooper, MD, is
credited with a string of landmark discoveries
that now provide a framework for
understanding how white blood cells normally
combat infections and how they go awry to
produce leukemia, lymphomas, and
autoimmune diseases.
Among Cooper’s earliest discoveries was
the finding that there are two distinct types of
white blood cells, now known as T and B
lymphocytes, which play separate but
complementary roles in defending against
infections. This is now recognized as one of
the most important organizing principles of the
immune system.
Now, to further understand the overall strategy of the immune system, Cooper and his colleagues are studying
immune system development in jawless fish: the lamprey and hagfish. By understanding adaptive immunity in
these primitive fish, we may gain a better understanding of our own immune system,
says Cooper. By understanding adaptive immunity in these primitive fish, we may gain a better understanding of our own immune system.
Following a distinguished career spent almost entirely at the University of Alabama,
Birmingham, Cooper joined the faculty of Emory University School of Medicine in
January 2008 as a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar.
His extraordinary record of scholarship has earned him countless professional
accolades. He is a member of the prestigious National Academy of Science and the
Institute of Medicine, and he has been a Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Investigator.
Cooper received his medical degree from Tulane University Medical School in 1957, subsequently trained as a
pediatrician, and has remained active as a physician in addition to his research career.
To listen to Cooper's own words about how his discoveries led to his current line of research, use the player at the top left of this page or subscribe to the podcast.
