American immunologist
Max Dale Cooper
ForMemRS (born August 31, 1933), is an American
immunologist and a
professor at the Department of
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the Emory Vaccine Center of
Emory University
School of Medicine .
[4] He is known for characterizing
T cells and
B cells .
[5]
Early life and education
Cooper was born and raised in rural
Mississippi . His father was the
Superintendent of Education of a 12-grade school in
Bentonia and his mother a teacher.
[2] He lived with his family on the campus.
[6] He was interested in becoming a
physician at a young age, and his father, who wanted to study
medicine but could not due to financial reasons, encouraged him to do so.
[7] Cooper went to
Holmes Junior College (now
Holmes Community College )
[8] on an
American football scholarship from 1951 to 1952,
[7]
[9] then entered the
University of Mississippi for
pre-medical studies.
[10]
In 1954, Cooper started studying
medicine at the
University of Mississippi School of Medicine . Since the school at that time was a two-year
medical school and was becoming a four-year one, Cooper was offered the option of staying or transferring elsewhere. He chose to move to the
Tulane University
School of Medicine ,
[6] and obtained his
MD in 1957.
[9]
Career
After graduating from
medical school , Cooper interned at a hospital in
Saginaw ,
Michigan for a year, and then returned to
Tulane University
School of Medicine for a
residency .
[6] In 1960, Cooper went to
Hospital for Sick Children, London as
pre-registration house officer and then
research assistant until 1961.
[6] From 1961 to 1962, he was a
pediatric
allergy and
immunology fellow at the
University of California, San Francisco .
[9]
Cooper briefly returned to Tulane as an instructor, then moved to the Department of Pediatrics at the
University of Minnesota in 1963 to as a
medical fellow and instructor, working with
Robert A. Good and conducting research. He became an
assistant professor in 1966.
One year later he joined the
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) as a
professor at the Division of Immunology and Allergy of the Department of Pediatrics and an
associate professor at the Department of
Microbiology . Over the next few years, Cooper also became a professor at the Department of Microbiology, of
Pathology and of
Medicine .
[9] During this period, he was also involved with the Comprehensive
Cancer Center (since 1971), the Multipurpose
Arthritis Center (since 1979), and the
Cystic Fibrosis Research Center (since 1981), all at UAB,
[9] and was an investigator at the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute between 1988 and 2006.
[11]
In 2008, convinced by the
Georgia Research Alliance ,
[12] where
Emory University is a partner institution, Cooper moved to the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the
School of Medicine of
Emory University in
Georgia ,
US .
[9] He is also a professor at the
Winship Cancer Institute
[13] and the Emory Vaccine Center,
[14] and an Eminent Scholar at the
Georgia Research Alliance .
[12]
Cooper remains a
Professor Emeritus of Medicine at UAB.
[15]
Cooper was the president of the
American Association of Immunologists between 1988 and 1989 and a member of their Council from 1983 to 1988.
[16]
Research
Cooper's research focus is the
adaptive immune system , particularly
T cells and
B cells . Following
Jacques Miller 's discovery in 1961 of the
immunological role of the
thymus ,
[17] the scientific community believed that there is only one lineage of
lymphocytes (the T cells), that produced by the thymus. As a
pediatrician , Cooper was studying patients of the
Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome , who have few lymphocytes but high levels of
plasma cells and
antibodies , which were thought to derive from T cells.
[18]
Inspired by a report that the
bursa of Fabricius (or the bursa) in
chickens may be responsible for producing antibodies,
[19] he conducted experiments in 1964 on chickens to determine the roles of the thymus and the bursa.
[20] He removed the thymus or the bursa from chicks and irradiated them with
X-ray to kill lymphocytes that may have been produced earlier by the thymus and bursa.
[21]
The experiments showed irradiated chicks with the bursa removed did not have plasma cells, antibodies, and
germinal centers , despite their intact thymus. Conversely, irradiated chickens with the thymus removed had low lymphocyte levels, but had normal antibodies, plasma cells, and germinal centers.
[22]
[23] The lymphocytes produced by the bursa are known as
B cells .
[24]
Again working on chickens, Cooper also made a contribution to deducing how B cells produce different types of antibodies at different stages of
embryonic development, in the sequence of
IgM ,
IgG , and
IgA .
[25] His experiments indicated a single lineage of B cells switch from IgM to producing other
immunoglobulin
isotypes , as opposed to multiple B cell subtypes each producing one immunoglobulin isotype.
[26] This process is known as
immunoglobulin class switching .
Collaborating with John Owen from the
UK , Cooper used a series of experiments to determine the
mammalian organ equivalent to the bursa and found that B cells are produced in the
liver of
fetal
mice .
[27] Together with independent reports by Pierre Vassalli
[28] and
Gustav Nossal
[29] in 1974 that B cells were produced in the
bone marrow of fetal mice, these discoveries show
haematopoietic
tissues generate B cells in
mammals .
[30]
More recently, Cooper studied the
adaptive immune system in
jawless vertebrates , including
lampreys and
hagfish . Working with
Jan Klein , he confirmed these
animals have cells functionally similar to mammalian T cells and B cells.
[31]
[32] Cooper's group also found that instead of antibodies, lampreys have a family of
immune receptors . They named it
variable lymphocyte receptor .
[33]
[34] Owing to the unique specificity of these antibody-counterparts and their distinction from human antibodies, they may be used in treating cancers such as
multiple myeloma and
brain cancer .
[35]
[36]
Awards and honors
References
^
"Max Dale Cooper, MD" .
Emory University
School of Medicine . Archived from
the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022 .
^
a
b
c
"Max Dale Cooper" .
Alabama Academy of Honor . Archived from
the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023 .
^
"Max Dale Cooper, MD" . Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame. Archived from
the original on December 29, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2022 .
^
"Max Cooper" . Emory University School of Medicine. Archived from
the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022 .
^
"Honorary Degrees Past Recipients: 2010-2019" .
Duke University Board of Trustees. Archived from
the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022 .
^
a
b
c
d
"The American Association of Immunologists Oral History Project Transcript: Max D. Cooper, M.D." (PDF) .
American Association of Immunologists . May 6, 2012. Archived from
the original (PDF) on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022 .
^
a
b Ioachimescu, Octavian C.; Cooper, Max D. (2022).
"An extraordinary story of discovery: an interview with Doctor Max D Cooper" .
Journal of Investigative Medicine . 70 (7): 1461–1465.
doi :
10.1136/jim-2022-002505 .
PMC
9554051 .
PMID
35820715 . Archived from
the original on January 1, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2023 .
^
"History of the College" .
Holmes Community College . April 6, 2021. Archived from
the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"Curriculum vitae: Max Dale Cooper" (PDF) . Robert Koch Foundation. Archived from
the original (PDF) on January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023 .
^ Cardon, Dustin (January 11, 2019).
"Max Cooper" .
Jackson Free Press . Archived from
the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023 .
^
"Max D. Cooper, MD" .
Howard Hughes Medical Institute . Archived from
the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023 .
^
a
b
"Max D. Cooper, M.D."
Georgia Research Alliance . Archived from
the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023 .
^
"Max D. Cooper MD" .
Winship Cancer Institute . Archived from
the original on January 1, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023 .
^
"Max D. Cooper, MD" . Archived from
the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023 .
^
"Max Dale Cooper, MD" .
University of Alabama at Birmingham . November 12, 2020. Archived from
the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023 .
^
"Max D. Cooper, M.D." American Association of Immunologists. Archived from
the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023 .
^
Miller, J. F. A. P. (1961).
"Immunological function of the thymus" .
The Lancet . 278 (7205): 748–749.
doi :
10.1016/S0140-6736(61)90693-6 .
PMID
14474038 . Retrieved January 19, 2023 .
^ Doctrow, Brian (2019).
"QnAs with Max D. Cooper and Jacques F. A. P. Miller" .
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 117 (1): 12–14.
doi :
10.1073/pnas.1920087116 .
PMC
6955343 .
PMID
31792192 .
^ Glick, Bruce; Chang, Timothy S.; Jaap, R. George (1956).
"The Bursa of Fabricius and Antibody Production" . Poultry Science . 35 (1): 224–225.
doi :
10.3382/ps.0350224 . Retrieved January 19, 2023 .
^
"Laudatio for Prof. Dr. Max Dale Cooper" (PDF) . Robert Koch Foundation. Archived from
the original (PDF) on January 19, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2023 .
^ Ribatti, Domenico (2014).
"Max D. Cooper and the delineation of two lymphoid lineages in the adaptive immune system" .
Immunology Letters . 162 (1(A)): 233–236.
doi :
10.1016/j.imlet.2014.09.005 .
PMID
25236938 . Retrieved January 20, 2023 .
^ Cooper, Max D.; Peterson, Raymond D. A.; Good, Robert A. (1965).
"Delineation of the Thymic and Bursal Lymphoid Systems in the Chicken" (PDF) .
Nature . 205 (4967): 143–146.
Bibcode :
1965Natur.205..143C .
doi :
10.1038/205143a0 .
PMID
14276257 . Archived from
the original (PDF) on January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023 .
^ Cooper, Max D.; Peterson, Raymond D. A.; South, Mary Ann; Good, Robert A. (1966).
"The Functions of the Thymus System and the Bursa System in the Chicken" (PDF) .
Journal of Experimental Medicine . 123 (1): 75–102.
doi :
10.1084/jem.123.1.75 .
PMC
2138128 .
PMID
5323079 . Archived from
the original (PDF) on January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023 .
^
"2018 Japan Prize Achievement - "Medical Science and Medicinal Science" field" (PDF) .
Japan Prize . Archived from
the original (PDF) on January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2023 .
^ Cooper, Max D. (2010).
"A Life of Adventure in Immunobiology" .
Annual Review of Immunology . 28 : 1–19.
doi :
10.1146/annurev-immunol-030409-101248 .
PMID
19968560 .
^ Kincade, Paul W.; Lawton, Alexander R.; Bockman, Dale E.; Cooper, Max D. (1970).
"Suppression of Immunoglobulin G Synthesis as a Result of Antibody-Mediated Suppression of Immunoglobulin M Synthesis in Chickens" . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 67 (4): 1918–1925.
Bibcode :
1970PNAS...67.1918K .
doi :
10.1073/pnas.67.4.1918 .
PMC
283448 .
PMID
5275387 .
^ Owen, John J. T.; Cooper, Max D.; Raff, Martin C. (1974).
"In vitro generation of B lymphocytes in mouse foetal liver, a mammalian 'bursa equivalent' " . Nature . 249 (455): 361–363.
Bibcode :
1974Natur.249..361O .
doi :
10.1038/249361a0 .
PMID
4546257 .
S2CID
4296027 . Retrieved January 22, 2023 .
^ Ryser, Jean-Etienne; Vassalli, Pierre (1974).
"Mouse Bone Marrow Lymphocytes and Their Differentiation" (PDF) .
Journal of Immunology . 113 (3): 719–728.
doi :
10.4049/jimmunol.113.3.719 .
PMID
4213258 . Retrieved January 22, 2023 .
^ Osmond, D. G.;
Nossal, G. J. V. (1974).
"Differentiation of lymphocytes in mouse bone marrow: II. Kinetics of maturation and renewal of antiglobulin-binding cells studied by double labeling" . Cellular Immunology . 13 (1): 132–145.
doi :
10.1016/0008-8749(74)90233-0 .
PMID
4141645 . Retrieved January 22, 2023 .
^ Gitlin, Alexander D.; Nussenzweig, Michel C. (2015).
"Immunology: Fifty years of B lymphocytes" . Nature . 517 (7533): 139–141.
Bibcode :
2015Natur.517..139G .
doi :
10.1038/517139a .
PMID
25567266 .
^ Mayer, Werner E.; Uinuk-ool, Tatiana; Tichy, Herbert; Gartland, Lanier A.; Klein, Jan; Cooper, Max D. (2002).
"Isolation and characterization of lymphocyte-like cells from a lamprey" . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 29 (99): 14350–14355.
Bibcode :
2002PNAS...9914350M .
doi :
10.1073/pnas.212527499 .
PMC
137887 .
PMID
12388781 .
^ Uinuk-ool, Tatiana; Mayer, Werner E.; Sato, Akie; Dongak, Roman; Cooper, Max D.; Klein, Jan (2002).
"Lamprey lymphocyte-like cells express homologs of genes involved in immunologically relevant activities of mammalian lymphocytes" . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 99 (22): 14356–14361.
Bibcode :
2002PNAS...9914356U .
doi :
10.1073/pnas.212527699 .
PMC
137888 .
PMID
12391333 .
^ Pancer, Zeev; Amemiya, Chris T.; Ehrhardt, Götz R. A.; Ceitlin, Jill; Gartland, G. Larry; Cooper, Max D. (2004).
"Somatic diversification of variable lymphocyte receptors in the agnathan sea lamprey" . Nature . 430 (6996): 174–180.
Bibcode :
2004Natur.430..174P .
doi :
10.1038/nature02740 .
hdl :
2027.42/62870 .
PMID
15241406 .
S2CID
876413 . Retrieved January 27, 2023 .
^ Cooper, Max D.; Alder, Matthew N. (2006).
"The Evolution of Adaptive Immune Systems" .
Cell . 124 (4): 815–822.
doi :
10.1016/j.cell.2006.02.001 .
PMID
16497590 .
^
"A Lymphocyte Journey" . Cell . 179 (1): 37–39. 2019.
doi :
10.1016/j.cell.2019.08.030 .
PMID
31519308 .
^ Eastman, Quinn (February 2018).
"Learning from Lampreys" . Emory Medicine . No. Winter 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2023 .
^
"Max D. Cooper, MD" .
American Society for Clinical Investigation . Archived from
the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023 .
^ "The UAB President's Medal".
University of Alabama at Birmingham 2021 Commencement (PDF) . University of Alabama at Birmingham. 2021. p. 16.
^
"Max D. Cooper" .
National Academy of Sciences . Archived from
the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023 .
^
"Novartis Basic and Clinical Immunology Prizes" . American Association of Immunologists. Archived from
the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023 .
^
"Max D. Cooper, M.D."
National Academy of Medicine . Archived from
the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023 .
^
"Max Dale Cooper" .
American Academy of Arts and Sciences . Archived from
the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023 .
^
"Elected Fellows" .
American Association for the Advancement of Science . Archived from
the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2023 .
^
"Past Recipients" . The American Association of Immunologists. Archived from
the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023 .
^
"Robert Koch Award 2010" . Robert Koch Foundation. Archived from
the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023 .
^
"Max Cooper" .
French Academy of Sciences . Archived from
the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023 .
^
"Max Cooper" .
Royal Society . Archived from
the original on May 23, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017 .
^
"The 2018 Japan Prize" . Japan Prize. Archived from
the original on December 29, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2022 .
^
"Distinguished Fellows of AAI Past Recipients" . American Association of Immunologists. Archived from
the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022 .
^
"2019 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award" .
Lasker Foundation . Archived from
the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023 .
International National Academics Other