Dr. Beth Levine was an internationally recognized authority in the field of autophagy and virus-host interactions who made transformative contributions to biomedical science. She held the prestigious position of Charles Cameron Sprague Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Science at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center while serving as Professor of Internal Medicine and Microbiology. After earning her A.B. magna cum laude in French Studies from Brown University and her M.D. from Cornell University Medical College, she completed her postdoctoral training in Infectious Diseases and Viral Pathogenesis at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Levine began her academic career at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in 1993, where she rose to Associate Professor of Medicine before joining UT Southwestern in 2004 as the Jay P. Sanford Professor and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases.
Dr. Levine's laboratory made fundamental discoveries that established autophagy as a critical pathway in human health and disease, most notably identifying the mammalian autophagy gene beclin 1. Her research defined essential roles for beclin 1 and the autophagy pathway in tumor suppression, antiviral immunity, development, cell death regulation, lifespan regulation, and exercise-induced metabolic effects. These groundbreaking contributions provided the foundation for understanding how cellular self-digestion processes influence numerous disease states and therapeutic responses. Dr. Levine's work has been celebrated for its scientific rigor and transformative impact, with her publications considered mandatory reading in the autophagy field and her lectures renowned for their clarity and precision.
As a dedicated mentor and scientific leader, Dr. Levine founded the annual Gordon and Keystone Conferences devoted to autophagy and served as a founding Associate Editor of the journal Autophagy while also contributing to Cell and Cell Host & Microbe. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2013 and received numerous prestigious awards including the Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award in Medicine and the American Society of Clinical Investigation Stanley J. Korsmeyer award. Dr. Levine built UT Southwestern's Center for Autophagy Research into a world-leading institution with seven faculty members and 23 scientists by 2020. Her legacy continues to inspire researchers worldwide through her unwavering commitment to scientific excellence, meticulous attention to detail, and profound dedication to training the next generation of physician-scientists.
