NIH 1998 Almanac/The Organization/CC/
Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center: Biographical Sketch of CC Director
John I. Gallin, M.D.
Dr. Gallin became CC director and NIH associate director for clinical research on May
1, 1994. Prior to his appointment, he had served as director, Division of Intramural
Research, NIAID, since 1985 and as chief of its Laboratory of Host Defenses since 1991.
A New York native, he graduated with honors from Amherst College, where he received an
honorary doctor of science in 1988. He earned an M.D. degree at Cornell University Medical
College in 1969. He was an intern, resident, and senior chief medical resident at New York
University-Bellevue Hospital Medical Center.
Dr. Gallin’s primary research centers on how phagocytes--the body’s scavenger
cells--function. When the cells fail to produce the oxygen-rich chemicals that normally
kill germs, a rare hereditary immune disorder--chronic granulomatous disease
(CGD)--results.
His laboratory has actively pursued gene therapy for the treatment of CGD. He also has
helped lead investigations demonstrating that the immune stimulant interferon-gamma
reduces infections in CGD. Currently, he and his colleagues are pursuing the use of
interferon-gamma in the treatment of other infectious diseases such as tuberculosis.
Dr. Gallin lectures internationally on inflammation and topics of host defense. Among
his honors are the PHS Distinguished Service Award, the Young Investigator Award of the
American Federation for Clinical Research, and the Squibb Award of the Infectious Diseases
Society of America. In 1991 he received the PHS award for orphan product development, an
honor that recognizes work in finding treatments for diseases and disorders that affect a
small number of patients worldwide.
Directors of CC
