Profile of Warren J. Leonard

Abstract

The immune system is the human body’s natural defense against disease. Many molecules and cells take part in the immune response, including cytokines, a critical group of intercellular signaling molecules that influence the development and actions of immune cells. Warren J. Leonard. Image courtesy of Bill Branson (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD). Immunologist Warren J. Leonard, at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, has dedicated much of his career to studying the molecular aspects of the immune system, in particular, cytokines. Leonard’s early work on cloning a component of the human receptor for the cytokine IL-2 was the foundation for his later work dissecting cytokine pathways, and led to the discovery of the genetic factors underlying the immune disorder X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (XSCID), or “Bubble Boy” disease, as well as other forms of human immunodeficiency. Moreover, it also served as the basis for a range of other fundamental contributions by his laboratory over the years. Leonard’s research has earned him multiple awards and accolades, including election to the US National Academy of Sciences in 2015. Leonard grew up in Bethesda. His father, Fred Leonard, was a physical and polymer chemist, and his mother worked in retail sales. Leonard’s father directed a biomedical research laboratory at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center Forest Glen Annex from 1948 to 1972, and later became the dean of research at George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, DC. Among his father’s accomplishments were major contributions to prosthetics and to the discovery of α-cyanoacrylate adhesives, the basis of superglue, for which he held the patent for medical and dental applications. For these efforts, President Richard Nixon awarded Leonard’s father the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service. As a child, Leonard was inspired by his father and enjoyed visits …