Dr. Charles J. Arntzen is highly recognized for his pioneering work in the development of plant-based vaccines for human disease prevention, as well as disease prevention in animal agriculture. These vaccines, developed by manipulating plants through genetic engineering, contain pharmacologically active ingredients for overcoming health constraints, with emphasis on the needs of poor countries.

Dr. Arntzen and his colleagues have genetically engineered food plants to confer immunity to several infectious diseases. Some of these are potatoes and bananas that carry the hepatitis B surface antigen, and vaccine potatoes against human papilloma virus (HPV) which cause cervical cancer. Dr. Arntzen is also responsible for the clinical trials of edible vaccines on humans, in which he found that 95% of the patients to whom he administered a raw potato carrying a subunit vaccination for E. coli exhibited mucosal and systemic immune responses. For most of these vaccines or subunit vaccinations, research is leaning towards the use of banana as vector because bananas can be eaten raw and most third-world countries, who would benefit most from edible vaccines, are in tropical climates that are suitable for growing bananas.

Born in Granite Falls in Minnesota, Dr. Arntzen began his career in plant science in the University of Minnesota, from which he obtained his bachelor’s (1965) and master’s (1967) degrees in plant physiology. He received his doctorate in cell physiology from Purdue University in 1970. He held several teaching positions at the University of Illinois and Michigan State University (MSU), and visiting professorships from universities in China, Australia, and France. He worked with USDA as a research scientist, and with MSU-Plant Research Laboratory as director. He has also held positions as director for biotechnology research, agricultural products department of DuPont Company; dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A & M University; and president and CEO, Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research in Cornell University. Dr. Arntzen was appointed to the Florence Ely Nelson Presidential Endowed Chair at Arizona State University in Tempe in 2000 and as Regents Professor in 2004. He served as the Founding Director of The Biodesign Institute until May 2003, and currently serves as the Director of the Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology of that Institute.

Dr. Arntzen was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1983 and to the National Academy of Sciences in India the following year. He is a fellow of The American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a recipient of the Award for Superior Service from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for international project leadership in India. He has been a member of numerous national and international committees, and also served as member of the editor board of SCIENCE for eight years. Dr. Arntzen also serves as a Distinguished Advisor on the Council for Biotechnology.

http://sols.asu.edu/faculty/
carntzen.php

http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/
kabernd/seminar/2002
/edible/vaccines.htm

http://events.uwa.edu.au/view/
student/simple?start=20031009

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