Researcher Remembered for Groundbreaking IBD, PIDD Work
Researcher Remembered for Groundbreaking IBD, PIDD Work
At age 33, Dr. Mayer brought his expertise back to Mount Sinai and became the youngest-ever division chief in the newly formed Division of Clinical Immunology. He was quickly promoted to Vice Chair of Medicine. Dr. Mayer was named the David and Dorothy Merksamer Professor of Medicine in 1994, and 3 years later, he became Professor of Immunobiology and Chair of the Immunobiology Center.
He served as Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology from 2003 to 2010, and in 2007 he became Professor and Codirector of the Immunology Institute. Dr. Mayer chaired numerous committees at the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA); he was also Chairman of the National Scientific Advisory Committee of the CCFA, helping to set their scientific agenda. At CCFA and elsewhere, Dr. Mayer was passionate about sharing his expertise by training the next generation of young IBD investigators. He was a "dedicated and awe-inspiring teacher, mentor and colleague to IBD researchers worldwide and a staunch friend to all he knew."
In the laboratory at Mount Sinai, Dr. Mayer pursued multiple interests, according to Tom Kraus, PhD, who worked in Dr. Mayer's laboratory in the 1990s. He looked into the contribution of T cells to the humoral immune response and became interested in the role of T cells in suppressing immune responses. Suppressor T cells became his focus.
At the same time, Dr. Mayer turned his attention to immunology of the gut. Mucosal immunity was very poorly characterized at that time. His contributions include discovering class II antigens on gut epithelial cells, and he published that T cells are important regulators of inflammation in the gut. With that information, Dr. Mayer made the leap to gut inflammatory diseases, Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis, and was the first to show that T cells from the mucosa of these patients acted differently from T cells in control patients. These findings had profound significance in the development of highly effective anti-inflammatory drugs for IBD.
Dr. Mayer has been described as a visionary leader, and indeed he had a way of pushing science forward and challenging the status quo. In 1991, he wrote that "adherence to conventional dogma will inhibit our ability to make advances in the field of mucosal immunity. The peripheral and mucosal immune systems are different enough, with unique phenomenology, to require a fresh approach."
Dr. Mayer was often described as that rare physician scientist who excelled at both bench and bedside. He was a leader in translational medicine before the term even existed. At seminars, he also had the distinct ability to distill the entire discussion into one question that summarized the entire issue succinctly, Sergio Lira, PhD, Codirector of the Mount Sinai Immunobiology Institute, said in eulogizing Dr. Mayer. Whether for patients, first-year medical students, or practicing clinicians, Dr. Mayer had a way of making complex material accessible, Dr. Lira added.
A Visionary Leader
At age 33, Dr. Mayer brought his expertise back to Mount Sinai and became the youngest-ever division chief in the newly formed Division of Clinical Immunology. He was quickly promoted to Vice Chair of Medicine. Dr. Mayer was named the David and Dorothy Merksamer Professor of Medicine in 1994, and 3 years later, he became Professor of Immunobiology and Chair of the Immunobiology Center.
He served as Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology from 2003 to 2010, and in 2007 he became Professor and Codirector of the Immunology Institute. Dr. Mayer chaired numerous committees at the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA); he was also Chairman of the National Scientific Advisory Committee of the CCFA, helping to set their scientific agenda. At CCFA and elsewhere, Dr. Mayer was passionate about sharing his expertise by training the next generation of young IBD investigators. He was a "dedicated and awe-inspiring teacher, mentor and colleague to IBD researchers worldwide and a staunch friend to all he knew."
A Genius in the Lab
In the laboratory at Mount Sinai, Dr. Mayer pursued multiple interests, according to Tom Kraus, PhD, who worked in Dr. Mayer's laboratory in the 1990s. He looked into the contribution of T cells to the humoral immune response and became interested in the role of T cells in suppressing immune responses. Suppressor T cells became his focus.
At the same time, Dr. Mayer turned his attention to immunology of the gut. Mucosal immunity was very poorly characterized at that time. His contributions include discovering class II antigens on gut epithelial cells, and he published that T cells are important regulators of inflammation in the gut. With that information, Dr. Mayer made the leap to gut inflammatory diseases, Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis, and was the first to show that T cells from the mucosa of these patients acted differently from T cells in control patients. These findings had profound significance in the development of highly effective anti-inflammatory drugs for IBD.
Dr. Mayer has been described as a visionary leader, and indeed he had a way of pushing science forward and challenging the status quo. In 1991, he wrote that "adherence to conventional dogma will inhibit our ability to make advances in the field of mucosal immunity. The peripheral and mucosal immune systems are different enough, with unique phenomenology, to require a fresh approach."
The Embodiment of Translational Medicine
Dr. Mayer was often described as that rare physician scientist who excelled at both bench and bedside. He was a leader in translational medicine before the term even existed. At seminars, he also had the distinct ability to distill the entire discussion into one question that summarized the entire issue succinctly, Sergio Lira, PhD, Codirector of the Mount Sinai Immunobiology Institute, said in eulogizing Dr. Mayer. Whether for patients, first-year medical students, or practicing clinicians, Dr. Mayer had a way of making complex material accessible, Dr. Lira added.