“Tears of the Cheetah, Roar of the Lion -Mark of the Plague”
Stephen O’Brien, Ph.D., Chief of the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health
Stephen J. O’Brien has been Chief of the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 1986.
Dr. O’Brien is recognized mostly for his research contributions in human and comparative genetics, evolutionary biology, HIV/AIDS, retro-virology, and species conservation. In collaboration with his students, fellows and colleagues his list of achievements include: 1.) gene discovery of over 200 human genes including onco-genes, virus resistance genes, and heredity diseases; 2.) development and annotation of the domestic cat gene map and whole genome sequence for comparative genome analyses; 3.) discovery of the remarkable genetic uniformity of the African cheetah, a prelude to genetic assessment of endangered species; 4.) solving the century-old evolutionary riddle of the giant panda’s evolutionary history; 5.) discovery of new species of orangutan, clouded leopard, and elephant; resolving the phylogenetic hierarchy of placental mammals, of the Chiroptera and Felidae families; 6.) documenting the epidemic prevalence of feline immunodeficiency (FIV) virus among wild cat species; and 7.) description of the first human gene to influence HIV-1 infection and AIDS progression, CCR5-∆32. Since CCR5-∆32, his group has discovered and validated 20 AIDS Restriction Genes that regulate HIV entry, innate or acquired immunity, and HIV gene control, pioneering the science of genetic epidemiology.
Dr. O’Brien was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Science , to the Explorer’s Club, and to the Cosmos Club . He served as President of the NCI Assembly of Scientists, as Chairman of the International Committee on Comparative Gene Mapping for the Human Genome Organization (HUGO). Dr. O’Brien founded and co-directs NOAHS (New Opportunities in Animal Health Sciences), a consortium of scientists and apprentices, part of the Smithsonian Institution/National Zoological Park, dedicated to applying biomedical technology on behalf of species conservation and to training a generation of conservation scientists.
Dr. O’Brien has a strong dedication to education, having directed fifteen Ph.D. dissertations, eight M.S. theses and twenty post-doctoral fellows. He was appointed adjunct professor at eleven universities: Harvard University,
The Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University, Duke University, University of Maryland, University of Minnesota, Michigan State University, Colorado State University, George Washington University, George Mason University, and
Peking University-Beijing. Since 1996 he has directed an internationally heralded short course sponsored by Smithsonian and American Genetics Association, entitled “Recent Advances in Conservation Genetics” , the most recent edition at The Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology Kailua, Hawaii .
Dr. O’Brien received his B.S. in Biology in 1966 from St. Francis College, which presented him with a Distinguished Alumni Award in 1994. In 1971 he earned a Ph.D. in Genetics from Cornell University which honored him as “Andrew Dixon White Professor at Large” in 1998. He fulfilled a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Aging before joining the National Cancer Institute in 1972.
Dr. O’Brien has served as editor of six editions of Genetic Maps: Locus Maps of Complex Genomes (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press); Editor of Journal of Heredity (American Genetics Association) from 1987-2007; Editor for Isozyme Bulletin; Associate Editor for Genomics; Human Genomics, Mammalian Genome, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, and Cosmos. Dr. O’Brien is the author or co-author of over 650 scientific articles and the editor of fourteen volumes. In 2003 he published a popular book of science adventure stories entitled “Tears of the Cheetah And Other Tales From The Genetic Frontier” ( St.Martin’s Pres NYC); in 2007, he published a comprehensive “Atlas of Mammalian Chromosomes” , a photo-compendium of the karyotype of nearly 1000 species of mammals , (John Wiley Inc. NYC).
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