Russell S. and Rae Weiser Endowed Lecture in Immunology

In gratitude to Dr. Weiser and to honor his many contributions to science and the training of young scientists, former graduate students trained under Professor Russell Weiser established the Russell S. and Rae Weiser Endowed Lecture in Immunology in 1985.

Following his graduation from the University of Washington in 1934, Dr. Weiser joined the faculty and remained at the UW until the time of his retirement in 1977, at which time the title of Professor Emeritus was conferred. Dr. Weiser served as Acting Executive Officer of Bacteriology between 1942 and 1945, and played a crucial role in the development of the Departments of Microbiology and Immunology. For many years, he was the only Immunologist on the faculty. Dr. Weiser's initial research involved the study of tuberculosis. His later work involved leprosy. Honors bestowed upon Dr. Weiser include memberships in Alpha Zeta, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Xi and Blue Key. He was a member of the American Society for Microbiology, the American Association of Immunologists, the International Transplantation Society, and the Reticuloendothelial Society (serving as president in 1973). Dr. Weiser performed editorial services for the Journal of the Reticuloendothelial Society and the Journal of Immunology. He also served on the U.S./Japan Medical Research Panel on Leprosy between 1971 and 1975.

Dr. Weiser envisioned that the lecturer would be chosen on the basis of outstanding merit and from among candidates who are contributing substantially to new and important advances in the immunology field. Upon the establishment of this endowment, Dr. Weiser said, "I feel strongly about preserving funds given for lectureships, scholarships, chairs, and research because they are important for building great universities."

2001 Weiser Lecture - May 6
Dr. Jonathan Sprent, The Scripps Research Institute
"Cytokines and T memory cells"

2002 Weiser Lecture - June 3
Dr. Klaus Rajewsky, Harvard University
"Genetic analysis of cellular homeostasis in the immune system"

2003 Weiser Lecture - October 6
Dr. Daniel Littman, New York University Medical Center
"Epigenetic regulation during development: The thymus and beyond"

2004 Weiser Lecture - March 30
Dr. Diane Mathis, Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard University
"Aire gene control of central tolerance"

2005 Weiser Lecture - May 17
Dr. Rafi Ahmed, Emory University Vaccine Center
"Memory CD8 T cell differentiation"

2006 Weiser Lecture - May 9
Dr. Craig Thompson, The Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, University of Pennsylvania,
"Ca++ signaling initiates lymphocyte proliferation through mitochrondrial ROS production"

2007 Weiser Lecture - May 7
Dr. Anjana Rao, The CBR Institute for Biomedical Research, Harvard University
"Signaling to transcription: the calcium/calcinerin/NFAT signaling"

2008 Weiser Lecture - April 7
Dr. Mark Davis, Institute of Immunity, Transplantation & Infection, Stanford University
"Thirty-six views of T cell recognition"