IN MEMORIAM
JOURNAL OF INTERFERON & CYTOKINE RESEARCH Volume 35, Number 5, 2015 ª Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. DOI: 10.1089/jir.2015.1501
Paula Pitha-Rowe, PhD (1938–2015) John Hiscott
M
any years ago, hiking in the Swiss Alps in the gathering gloom of evening, somewhere between Kleine Scheidegg and Wengen, I was asked by a hiker whom I had just met, ‘‘Do you know someone by the name of Paula Pitha?’’ It was one of those ‘‘small world’’ moments that one never forgets. The occasion that brought many of us to Switzerland was the 1st Joint Conference of the International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research and the International Cytokine Society, held in Geneva in 1996—as it turned out, the first date in a long courtship that ultimately resulted in the marriage of the two Societies. Several colleagues had spent the day hiking in the Alps; we missed the last train down the mountain from Kleine Scheidegg, and were obliged to hike down to Wengen to catch the last train. Along the way, we met a fellow hiker who was also making his way down the mountain. After a short discussion of the reasons we were on the side of the mountain—I was after all attending the conference—he volunteered that during his undergraduate days at Johns Hopkins, he had studied biochemistry and had worked with Paula, injecting Xenopus oocytes with interferon mRNA. In retrospect, perhaps this anecdote illustrates as clearly as any the far-reaching influence of Paula Pitha and her illustrious career in the interferon and cancer research. Born and raised in the Czech Republic, Paula received her PhD in biochemistry from the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague in 1964, and subsequently trained internationally at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (Prague), National Research Council in Ottawa Canada, Curie Institute in Paris, and the Salk Institute, eventually joining the faculty of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1971. As noted by Dr. William Nelson, Director of the Stanley Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Paula was the first full-time basic research scientist recruited to the oncology program at Hopkins. She fostered the development of the cancer center, and rose through the ranks of the university to become Professor in 1985. Among her many awards, she received the G.J. Mendel Honorary Medal for Merit in Biological Sciences in 2005, and was elected as a fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Science in 2010. For many of us, Paula was a collaborator, a colleague, and a dear friend. She was a long-time member of the International Cytokine and Interferon Society, and at our annual meetings, Paula could be counted on to pepper us with
questions, comments, and commentary. And that little notebook! She took copious notes during the sessions that, according to one of her former postdocs, were the essential summary of the annual conference. Paula was an enthusiastic champion of the interferon field and was committed to the success of the Society. She chaired the Awards Committee for many years and also organized and hosted the International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research conference in Baltimore. In 1996, she was the recipient of the Milstein Award for scientific accomplishment based on her groundbreaking studies on interferon gene regulation and the characterization of multiple members of the interferon regulatory factor (IRF) family. The human IRFs, as well as the viral homologs (vIRFs), regulate the expression of interferon antiviral and inflammatory responses through a variety of distinct mechanisms, and contribute to the production of hundreds of interferonstimulated genes (ISGs). Thanks to Paula’s groundbreaking biochemical and molecular studies in cell and animal models, it is now recognized that the distinct members of the IRF family control diverse biological functions, including antiviral immunity, inflammation, apoptosis and hematopoietic growth, and differentiation, while inappropriate expression can lead to chronic autoimmune disorders and oncogenesis. Her interests extended beyond interferon and also included detailed molecular studies on the interplay between viral factors and the host immune response, using human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus as viral models. Altogether, her studies opened the door to many new avenues of research for an entirely new generation of scientists. More recently, Paula studied one of the well-known ISGs, ISG15, an ubiquitin-like protein that plays a key role in the innate antiviral response via its conjugation to target proteins (ISGylation) or via its action as a free or unconjugated protein. Her studies demonstrated that ISG15 could biochemically inhibit the assembly and release of HIV-1 virions, suggesting a novel antiviral strategy to target HIV and
Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute, Port St. Lucie, Florida.
325
326
other viruses. What struck me about these studies was her mother’s pride in describing the fact that her son, Ian, had authored the work with her. Paula is survived by a large extended family. Her son, Dr. Ian Pitha-Rowe, MD, PhD, is a physician scientist, currently an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute of the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her daughter, Ulla Pitha, is an investment management professional. Ian’s wife, Heather Sateia, is an Internal Medicine physician at Hopkins.
IN MEMORIAM
Paula was the proud and adoring grandmother of their two children. Paula’s family spans two nations—the United States and the Czech Republic—siblings and numerous nieces and nephews whom she would visit regularly. Over the years, many of us have received the invitation to visit and tour Prague with Paula; sadly, too few of us were able to take her up on that offer. Like her own family, her scientific family will miss the insightful, energetic, continental charm and grace of our friend Paula Pitha.
JOURNAL OF INTERFERON & CYTOKINE RESEARCH Volume 35, Number 5, 2015 ª Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. DOI: 10.1089/jir.2015.1501
Paula Pitha-Rowe, PhD (1938–2015) John Hiscott
M
any years ago, hiking in the Swiss Alps in the gathering gloom of evening, somewhere between Kleine Scheidegg and Wengen, I was asked by a hiker whom I had just met, ‘‘Do you know someone by the name of Paula Pitha?’’ It was one of those ‘‘small world’’ moments that one never forgets. The occasion that brought many of us to Switzerland was the 1st Joint Conference of the International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research and the International Cytokine Society, held in Geneva in 1996—as it turned out, the first date in a long courtship that ultimately resulted in the marriage of the two Societies. Several colleagues had spent the day hiking in the Alps; we missed the last train down the mountain from Kleine Scheidegg, and were obliged to hike down to Wengen to catch the last train. Along the way, we met a fellow hiker who was also making his way down the mountain. After a short discussion of the reasons we were on the side of the mountain—I was after all attending the conference—he volunteered that during his undergraduate days at Johns Hopkins, he had studied biochemistry and had worked with Paula, injecting Xenopus oocytes with interferon mRNA. In retrospect, perhaps this anecdote illustrates as clearly as any the far-reaching influence of Paula Pitha and her illustrious career in the interferon and cancer research. Born and raised in the Czech Republic, Paula received her PhD in biochemistry from the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague in 1964, and subsequently trained internationally at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (Prague), National Research Council in Ottawa Canada, Curie Institute in Paris, and the Salk Institute, eventually joining the faculty of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1971. As noted by Dr. William Nelson, Director of the Stanley Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Paula was the first full-time basic research scientist recruited to the oncology program at Hopkins. She fostered the development of the cancer center, and rose through the ranks of the university to become Professor in 1985. Among her many awards, she received the G.J. Mendel Honorary Medal for Merit in Biological Sciences in 2005, and was elected as a fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Science in 2010. For many of us, Paula was a collaborator, a colleague, and a dear friend. She was a long-time member of the International Cytokine and Interferon Society, and at our annual meetings, Paula could be counted on to pepper us with
questions, comments, and commentary. And that little notebook! She took copious notes during the sessions that, according to one of her former postdocs, were the essential summary of the annual conference. Paula was an enthusiastic champion of the interferon field and was committed to the success of the Society. She chaired the Awards Committee for many years and also organized and hosted the International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research conference in Baltimore. In 1996, she was the recipient of the Milstein Award for scientific accomplishment based on her groundbreaking studies on interferon gene regulation and the characterization of multiple members of the interferon regulatory factor (IRF) family. The human IRFs, as well as the viral homologs (vIRFs), regulate the expression of interferon antiviral and inflammatory responses through a variety of distinct mechanisms, and contribute to the production of hundreds of interferonstimulated genes (ISGs). Thanks to Paula’s groundbreaking biochemical and molecular studies in cell and animal models, it is now recognized that the distinct members of the IRF family control diverse biological functions, including antiviral immunity, inflammation, apoptosis and hematopoietic growth, and differentiation, while inappropriate expression can lead to chronic autoimmune disorders and oncogenesis. Her interests extended beyond interferon and also included detailed molecular studies on the interplay between viral factors and the host immune response, using human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus as viral models. Altogether, her studies opened the door to many new avenues of research for an entirely new generation of scientists. More recently, Paula studied one of the well-known ISGs, ISG15, an ubiquitin-like protein that plays a key role in the innate antiviral response via its conjugation to target proteins (ISGylation) or via its action as a free or unconjugated protein. Her studies demonstrated that ISG15 could biochemically inhibit the assembly and release of HIV-1 virions, suggesting a novel antiviral strategy to target HIV and
Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute, Port St. Lucie, Florida.
325
326
other viruses. What struck me about these studies was her mother’s pride in describing the fact that her son, Ian, had authored the work with her. Paula is survived by a large extended family. Her son, Dr. Ian Pitha-Rowe, MD, PhD, is a physician scientist, currently an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute of the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her daughter, Ulla Pitha, is an investment management professional. Ian’s wife, Heather Sateia, is an Internal Medicine physician at Hopkins.
IN MEMORIAM
Paula was the proud and adoring grandmother of their two children. Paula’s family spans two nations—the United States and the Czech Republic—siblings and numerous nieces and nephews whom she would visit regularly. Over the years, many of us have received the invitation to visit and tour Prague with Paula; sadly, too few of us were able to take her up on that offer. Like her own family, her scientific family will miss the insightful, energetic, continental charm and grace of our friend Paula Pitha.
