Carl F. Nathan

Nathan provided an integrated immunologic and biochemical picture of how macrophages protect the host from pathogens and how some microbes persist. He established that lymphocyte products activate macrophages, identified interferon-gamma as the principal macrophage-activating cytokine and moved it into the clinic. He purified, cloned and characterized inducible nitric oxide synthase and established its roles in septic shock and host defense. He then discovered enzymes by which Mycobacterium tuberculosis persists in the face of immunity. He developed inhibitors of each enzyme, including the first compounds that selectively kill non-replicating bacteria, helping to foster the development of anti-infectives informed by host-pathogen relationships.