William C. Campbell (scientist)
| William C. Campbell | |
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William C. Campbell, Nobel Laureate in medicine in Stockholm December 2015
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| Born | William Cecil Campbell 28 June 1930 Ramelton, County Donegal, Ireland |
| Residence | North Andover, Massachusetts |
| Nationality | Irish, American |
| Fields | Parasitic diseases |
| Institutions |
Merck Institute for Therapeutic Research Drew University |
| Alma mater |
Trinity College, Dublin University of Wisconsin |
| Known for | Avermectin |
| Notable awards | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2015) |
William Cecil Campbell (born 28 June 1930) is an Irish and American biologist and parasitologist known for his work in discovering a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworms, for which he was jointly awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He helped to discover a class of drugs called avermectins, whose derivatives have been shown to have "extraordinary efficacy" in treating River blindness and Lymphatic filariasis, among other parasitic diseases affecting animals and humans. Campbell worked at the Merck Institute for Therapeutic Research 1957–1990, and is currently a research fellow emeritus at Drew University.
Campbell was born in Ramelton, County Donegal, Ireland in 1930 , the third son of R. J. Campbell, a farm supplier. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin with James Desmond Smyth, graduating in 1952 with first class honours in Zoology. He then attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison on a Fulbright Scholarship, earning his Ph.D. degree in 1957 for work on the liver fluke, a parasite affecting sheep.
From 1957 to 1990 Campbell worked at Merck Institute for Therapeutic Research, and from 1984 to 1990 he was a Senior Scientist and Director with Assay Research and Development. He became a U.S. citizen in 1962. One of his discoveries while at Merck was the fungicide thiabendazole, used to treat potato blight, historically a scourge of Ireland. Thiabendazole is also used to treat trichinosis in humans.
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