Lewis L. Lanier is a preeminent immunologist whose groundbreaking research has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of the immune system's defense mechanisms. He currently serves as American Cancer Society Professor and J. Michael Bishop MD Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco, where he has been a faculty member since 1999. Prior to his appointment at UCSF, Lanier held significant leadership roles including Director of Immunobiology at the DNAX Research Institute and Associate Director at the Becton Dickinson Monoclonal Center. He earned his bachelor's degree in biology from Virginia Tech in 1975 and completed his doctoral studies in microbiology and immunology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Dr. Lanier's seminal research has revolutionized the field of natural killer cell biology through his discovery of inhibitory receptors and their critical role in immune recognition. His laboratory pioneered the understanding of how NK cells distinguish between healthy cells and those transformed by cancer or infected by viruses through sophisticated receptor-ligand interactions. His work has been cited over 135,000 times, demonstrating its profound impact on immunological research worldwide. The National Academy of Sciences specifically recognized his contributions as foundational to the field when electing him as a member in 2010 for his work on NK cell recognition, regulation, and function.
As a leader in the immunology community, Lanier served as President of the American Association of Immunologists from 2006-2007 and has received numerous prestigious honors including the William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic Tumor Immunology and the Rose Payne Award for contributions to Immunogenetics. His exceptional mentorship was recognized with the AAI Excellence in Mentoring Award in 2017, followed by the AAI Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. Lanier published his final scientific paper in The Journal of Immunology in 2025, concluding a remarkable five-decade career that began with his first publication in the same journal in 1978. His enduring legacy continues to influence cancer immunotherapy and infectious disease research through the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, which he directs.
