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Barney S. Graham

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Barney S. Graham
Born
Kansas, U.S.
Spouse(s)Cynthia Turner-Graham, M.D.
Children3
Academic background
EducationB.S., biology, Rice University
M.D., 1979, University of Kansas School of Medicine
Ph.D., Microbiology and Immunology, 1991, Vanderbilt University
Academic work
InstitutionsVaccine Research Center
National Institutes of Health
Vanderbilt University

Barney S. Graham is an American immunologist, virologist, and clinical trials physician. He is the deputy director of the Vaccine Research Center and the chief of the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory.

Early life and education

Graham attended Paola High School in Paola, Kansas, where he was graduated as valedictorian in 1971 before enrolling at Rice University to major in biology for his bachelor of science degree. He earned a medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1979. Graham met his wife, Cynthia Turner-Graham, during medical school and they wished to complete residencies in the same community. He interviewed at Vanderbilt University and accepted a residency there while Turner-Graham accepted her residency at Meharry Medical College, also in Nashville, Tennessee.[1] Graham completed his internship, residency, two chief residencies, and an infectious diseases fellowship at Vanderbilt.[2] His college roommate was pediatrician William C. Gruber.[3]

Career

Barney Graham pictured with his staff from the NIH Vaccine Research Center

By 1982, Graham was appointed chief resident at Nashville General Hospital,[4] where he treated Tennessee's first AIDS patient.[1] Following this, he was named to a chief residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center,[5] where he led the first human trial on the AIDS vaccine.[6] The results of the trial found that the two experimental AIDS vaccines proved to yield the best immune response in patients.[7] During his time at Vanderbilt, Graham was working simultaneously on his Ph.D. in microbiology.[5]

Graham was elected a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 1996.[8] In 2000, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recruited him to create a vaccine evaluation clinic (Vaccine Research Center), but he insisted on maintaining a research laboratory to focus on vaccines for three categories of respiratory viruses.[1] During the 2015–2016 Zika virus epidemic, Graham and Ted Pierson, chief of the Laboratory of Viral Diseases, collaborated to create a vaccine intended to prevent the Zika virus. Moving from inception to manufacturing in just three months, they began a Phase 2 clinical trial in March 2017 to measure its effectiveness. In recognition of their efforts, they were finalists for the 2018 Promising Innovations Medal.[9] In 2021 he received the Albany Medical Center Prize.[10]

By 2017, working alongside Jason McLellan, a structural biologist, they discovered that "adding two prolines to a key joint of a vaccine's spike protein could stabilize the structure's prefusion shape" (patent WO2018081318A1). Later, this method would be applied to the COVID-19 vaccine.[11] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Graham's laboratory partnered with Moderna to develop vaccine technology. He was a member of the research team that designed a spike protein to combat the virus.

His research found that some virus proteins change shape after they break into a person's cells, leading to the design of a better vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus.[12][13]

Personal life

Graham is married to Cynthia Turner-Graham, also a physician. She specializes in psychiatry.[14] They have three adult children.

References

  1. ^ a b c Wright, Lawrence (December 28, 2020). "The Plague Year". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  2. ^ "Barney S. Graham, MD'79, PhD 2017: Distinguished Medical Alumnus" (PDF). kumc.info. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  3. ^ Hopkins, Jared S. (2021-05-25). "Bill and Barney, Two Old College Pals, Help Save the World From Covid-19". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  4. ^ Nashville General Hospital
  5. ^ a b Colmenares, Clinton (2013). "Barney Graham leaves Vanderbilt for NIH, but his feet stay planted". reporter.newsarchive.vumc.org. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  6. ^ "First human tests of AIDS vaccine slated". Auburn Journal. August 12, 1987. Retrieved January 10, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "New experiment with AIDS vaccines called encouraging". The Sacramento Bee. June 22, 1991. Retrieved January 10, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Barney S. Graham, MD, PhD". the-asci.org. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  9. ^ "BARNEY S. GRAHAM, M.D., Ph.D and Theodore C. Pierson, Ph.D." servicetoamericamedals.org. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  10. ^ Albany Medical Center Prize 2021
  11. ^ Cross, Ryan (September 29, 2020). "The tiny tweak behind COVID-19 vaccines". cen.acs.org. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  12. ^ Johnson, Carolyn Y. (December 6, 2020). "A gamble pays off in 'spectacular success': How the leading coronavirus vaccines made it to the finish line". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  13. ^ Allen, Arthur (November 18, 2020). "Government-Funded Scientists Laid the Groundwork for Billion-Dollar Vaccines". khn.org. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  14. ^ "CYNTHIA TURNER-GRAHAM, M.D. – DISTINGUISHED PSYCHIATRIST". incirclexec.com. Retrieved January 10, 2021.

Barney S. Graham publications indexed by Google Scholar

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