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Pamela J. Fink

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Pamela J. Fink
Born
Dodge City, Kansas
EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technology, Indiana University
Known forImmunology, T cells
PartnerMichael J. Bevan
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Washington School of Medicine, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, University of California, San Diego, Stanford University School of Medicine
External videos
video icon “Pamela J. Fink, Ph.D. (AAI ‘73, Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of Immunology, 2013–2018)”

Pamela J. Fink is a professor emerita in the Department of Immunology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Fink was the first woman to be editor-in-chief of the Journal of Immunology, serving from 2013–2018.[1]

As of 2019 Fink became a Distinguished Fellow of the American Association of Immunologists and received the AAI Lifetime Achievement Award[2] "In recognition of a remarkable career of scientific achievement and contributions to AAI and the field of immunology".[1]

Early life and education

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Pamela Fink was born in Dodge City, Kansas and grew up in Kansas City where she attended public schools and studied ballet. Eventually giving up ballet for science, Fink graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. While at Indiana University she worked with John Richardson in the Department of Chemistry, studying genetics and operon control in bacteriophage λ.[3]

Fink then attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, receiving her Ph.D. in Biology in 1981.[4] She did her Ph.D. work with Michael J. Bevan, working on T cells and their recognition of antigens.[3]

Career

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Fink held postdoctoral positions at Stanford University School of Medicine with Irving Weissman and the University of California, San Diego with Stephen Hedrick. She next worked with Per Peterson at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation for two years.[3][5] In 1985 she and Michael J. Bevan were married.[5] In 1990, Fink joined the University of Washington, where she remained until her retirement from the department of immunology in January 2019.[4][3]

Research

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After beginning her scientific work in developmental biology, Fink developed an interest in immunology as a developmental system. She was particularly attracted to how T cells learn how to recognize foreign antigens and protect the body during their development in the thymus. By transplanting the thymus from one animal to another, Fink was able to test the effects of mixing the genetics and environment of T cells and to demonstrate that T cells in the thymus learn environmentally rather than genetically. Fink went on to examine T cell structure and function using tools from molecular biology.[5]

After setting up her own lab at the University of Washington, much of Fisk's work focused on the maturation of peripheral T cells. She determined that T cells that have recently left the thymus (recent thymic immigrants) respond differently than mature T cells. The concentration of such cells differ over the lifespan, with only immature T cells in the very young and ongoing creation of new T cells, with a higher proportion of mature T cells in later life. This has significant implications for immunology and medical treatment.[4][6][7][8]

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Professor Emeritus Dr. Pam Fink receives 2019 AAI Lifetime Achievement Award". Department of Immunology, University of Washington. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Pamela J. Fink, Ph.D." American Association of Immunologists. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Fink, Pamela J. (26 April 2022). "Exposing T Cell Secrets Inside and Outside the Thymus". Annual Review of Immunology. 40 (1): 1–14. doi:10.1146/annurev-immunol-101220-014126. ISSN 0732-0582. PMID 34871102. S2CID 244943970. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Pamela J. Fink, PhD". Department of Immunology, University of Washington. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Williams, Brien. "The American Association of Immunologists Oral History Project Transcription Pamela J. Fink, Ph.D. May 12, 2019 San Diego, CA" (PDF). American Association of Immunologists. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  6. ^ Cunningham, Cody A.; Hoppins, Suzanne; Fink, Pamela J. (1 August 2018). "Cutting Edge: Glycolytic Metabolism and Mitochondrial Metabolism Are Uncoupled in Ag-Activated CD8+ Recent Thymic Emigrants". The Journal of Immunology. 201 (6): 1627–1632. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1800705. ISSN 0022-1767. PMC 6125188. PMID 30068595. S2CID 51893967.
  7. ^ Cunningham, Cody A; Helm, Eric Y; Fink, Pamela J (April 2018). "Reinterpreting recent thymic emigrant function: defective or adaptive?". Current Opinion in Immunology. 51: 1–6. doi:10.1016/j.coi.2017.12.006. PMC 5943149. PMID 29257954.
  8. ^ Fink, Pamela J. (21 March 2013). "The Biology of Recent Thymic Emigrants". Annual Review of Immunology. 31 (1): 31–50. doi:10.1146/annurev-immunol-032712-100010. ISSN 0732-0582. PMID 23121398. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  9. ^ Fink, P J; Swan, K; Turk, G; Moore, M W; Carbone, F R (1 December 1992). "Both intrathymic and peripheral selection modulate the differential expression of V beta 5 among CD4+ and CD8+ T cells". Journal of Experimental Medicine. 176 (6): 1733–1738. doi:10.1084/jem.176.6.1733. PMC 2119442. PMID 1334117. S2CID 1190513.
  10. ^ "NSF 95-81 Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences FY 1994 Awards". National Science Foundation. April 10, 1995. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  11. ^ "AAI Announces Distinguished Fellows of AAI - Class of 2019!". American Association of Immunologists. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
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