Hidde Ploegh joins Whitehead Institute
faculty
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (March 30, 2005) — Molecular
biologist Hidde Ploegh has just been appointed to the
faculty of Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.
An acclaimed researcher whose work focuses on the immune
system, Hidde comes to Whitehead from the Harvard Medical
School where, as Professor of Pathology, he has been
heading the school’s immunology program since
1997. Prior to that, Ploegh was a Professor of Biology
at MIT, working primarily in the Center for Cancer Research.
For many years, Ploegh has been interested in the molecular
mechanisms by which the immune system responds to antigens—substances
such as toxins, bacteria, or foreign cells from transplants
which, when entering the body, trigger the production
of antibodies. Recently he’s focused on how certain
viral proteins interfere with this process.
Ploegh’s research has contributed in many ways
to our understanding of the immune system. For example,
he helped elucidate how a certain set of glycoproteins—molecules
that help the immune system recognize invaders—are
put together and are delivered to the right destination
to help an immune response kick in. He discovered a
new mechanism by which viruses evade the immune system.
He has also expanded his interest into the world of
chemistry, continually combining his biological experiments
with more chemically oriented approaches. Lately, Ploegh
and his coworkers have been particularly interested
in generating the chemical tools with which to probe
a particular family of enzymes called proteases that
are a key component of the Ubiquitin-proteasome system,
one of the major mechanisms by which proteins are degraded
in cells.
Ploegh’s 300-plus research papers include the
June 24, 2004 cover story for the journal Nature, which
described one of the mechanisms by which the immune
system eliminates misfolded proteins.
Ploegh has been working on members of the herpes virus
family and plans to begin studying influenza once he
settles in at Whitehead.
“It’s great that Hidde will be joining
the Whitehead family,” says Interim Director David
Page. “He’s among the world leaders in his
field, and I look forward to many upcoming collaborations
between him and other Whitehead faculty members.”
Ploegh’s honors include Correspondent of the
Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences, National Institutes
of Health Merit Award, Avery-Landsteiner Prize, and
member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
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