David Ho (scientist)

David Ho 何大一
Born	(1952-11-03) November 3, 1952 Taichung, Taiwan
Residence	Chappaqua, New York
Nationality	United States
Other names	David Da-i Ho, 何大一
Education	California Institute of Technology and Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Occupation	AIDS researcher
Known for	AIDS research
Spouse(s)	Susan Kuo Ho
Children	3
Parents	Paul Ho and Sonia Jiang

David Da-i Ho (Chinese: 何大一; born November 3, 1952) is a Taiwanese American^[1][2][3][4] AIDS researcher famous for pioneering the use of protease inhibitors in treating HIV-infected patients with his team.^[5] He is the scientific director and chief executive officer of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and the Irene Diamond Professor at the Rockefeller University in New York.

Early life

David Ho was born in Taichung, Taiwan, to Paul (何步基, an engineer) and Sonia Ho (江雙如). David Ho attended Taichung Municipal Guang-Fu Elementary School until sixth grade before immigrating to the United States with his mother and younger brother to unite with his father, who had already been in the US since 1957. He grew up in Los Angeles and received his bachelor of science in physics with highest honors from the California Institute of Technology (1974)^[6] and MD from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (1978). Subsequently, he did his clinical training in internal medicine and infectious diseases at UCLA School of Medicine (1978–1982) and Massachusetts General Hospital (1982–1985), respectively. He was a resident in internal medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in 1981 when he came into contact with some of the first reported cases of what was later identified as AIDS.

Career

Ho has been at the forefront of AIDS research for three decades. He published over 400 papers (cited June 2011), enabling the scientific community to understand the mechanism of HIV replication.^[7] He championed the combination anti-retroviral therapy^[8] which allowed the control of HIV replication in patients.^[9] AIDS mortality has declined six times in developed countries since 1996, and international efforts are under way to bring the treatment to patients in the developing world.

Ho shifted his work from treating late in the illness to finding ways to fight the disease early on. Ho helped devise the HAART or highly active anti-retroviral therapy, which prescribes a cocktail of drugs to treat AIDS, on the theory that it would be more effective to combine powerful protease inhibitors with other HIV medications.

Ho's research team is working on developing vaccines for AIDS. He heads a consortium of organization in China and the U.S. to address the crisis of HIV/AIDS in China. In a June 13, 2011 interview with Asian Scientist Magazine, he discusses his team's progress with Ibalizumab, the antibody his team is developing for HIV vaccination with support from the Gates Foundation.^[10]

Ho keeps good relations with the Taiwanese government^[11][12][13] and the top research institution of Taiwan, Academia Sinica. He has been playing important role in the state-sponsored research and development of biotechnology in Taiwan.^[14][15][16]

Ho is a member of the Committee of 100, a Chinese American leadership organization, in addition to several scientific groups.^{[citation needed]}

Honors and titles

Ho has received numerous honors and awards for his scientific accomplishments. He is the recipient of 12 honorary doctorates, including those from Columbia University and Tsinghua University. On January 8, 2001, he was presented with the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Clinton.^[17]

Ho was the chosen commencement speaker at Caltech, MIT, and Harvard School of Public Health. Other accolades include the Ernst Jung Prize in Medicine, Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Science & Technology, the Squibb Award, and the Hoechst Marion Roussel Award.^{[citation needed]}

Ho is an honorary professor at Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Wuhan University, and Fudan University. He was a member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard University and the Board of Trustees of the California Institute of Technology. He is a board member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Corporation.^{[citation needed]}

Ho was Time magazine's 1996 Man of the Year. Time later recalled the selection surprised both Ho and readers, with one reader calling Ho "Dr. David Who?"^[18] The magazine acknowledged in 1996 that "Ho is not, to be sure, a household name. But some people make headlines while others make history."^[18] Ho was even briefly mentioned when Alexander Fleming was considered for Person of the Century in 1999, since Fleming could be portrayed as representative of other disease-fighting scientists including Ho,^[19] but the title ultimately went to Albert Einstein.

Ho has been elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Academia Sinica (Taiwan), and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy.^{[citation needed]}

On December 6, 2006, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver inducted Ho into the California Hall of Fame located at The California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Ho and his wife, artist Susan Kuo Ho, live in New York and have three children: Kathryn, Jonathan, and Jaclyn.

Sources

• The White House - President Clinton Awards the Presidential Citizens Medals Monday, January 8, 2001

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to David Ho.

• Rockefeller Heads of Laboratories
• 1996 Man of the Year
• Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center
• Ubben Lecture at DePauw University; April 16, 1997
• David Ho Interview -- Academy of Achievement