discovered many new viruses
Dr. Robert E. Shope, emeritus professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (EPH) at the School of Medicine and one of the leading virologists of his generation, died at age 74 in Texas on Jan. 19 after a long illness.
Dr. Shope was also professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston, Texas. His research focused on many viruses including arboviruses and rodent-borne viruses. Throughout his career, he helped investigate or led investigations of Rift Valley fever, Lassa fever, Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever, yellow fever and other diseases.
He served as president of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and was honored for his work with numerous prestigious awards in his field.
"I am honored to have been a faculty colleague of Bob Shope, a gifted scientist and educator, a splendid mentor to generations of public health and medical students at Yale," says Curtis Patton, professor and head of Global Health, professor of epidemiology of microbial diseases and director of International Medical Studies at the School of Medicine. "His work represents examples of courageous, brilliant, pioneering research, enduring contributions to the fields of infectious diseases and global health."
The son of Richard Shope, who discovered Rabbit fibroma virus and who worked on the discovery of the first papovavirus, Robert Shope earned a bachelor's degree and an M.D. from Cornell University in 1951 and 1954, respectively. He completed his internship and residency at Yale.
He began his 30-year career at Yale in 1965 when he joined the EPH faculty as an assistant professor. He served as director of the Yale Arbovirus Research Unit, director of medical education and head of the Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology.
Dr. Shope's travels took him to almost every part of the world where mosquitoes or rodents harbored viruses. He worked at the then Camp Detrick as an Army medical officer, then in Malaysia at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, and headed the Rockefeller Foundation's laboratory in Belem, Brazil, where he studied yellow fever and participated in the discovery of hundreds of previously unknown viruses.
"Bob Shope was an encyclopedia of information about arboviruses," says his friend and colleague, Charles H. Calisher, a professor at Colorado State University. "The world lost a great scientist, many of us lost a great friend, and Dr. Robert E. Shope's children lost a great father."
Upon his retirement from Yale in 1995, Dr. Shope joined UTMB. He and colleague Robert Tesh brought with them The World Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses, a collection of about 4,000 viruses spread by insects and an additional 1,000 viruses. At UTMB, he was also professor of preventive medicine and community health at the Sealy Centers for Structural Biology, Environmental Health and Medicine, and Vaccine Development and was the John S. Dunn Distinguished Professor in the Department of Pathology.
Dr. Shope is survived by his wife, Virginia, of Branford, Connecticut; sons Peter and Steve of Newfields, New Hampshire; daughters Deborah Shope of Galveston, Texas, and Bonnie Rice of Belmont, Massachusetts; two brothers, Tom Shope of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Richard Shope of Hudson, Wisconsin; a sister, Nancy FitzGerrell of Boulder, Colorado; and six grandchildren.
A memorial fund is being established at UTMB to support students working in the area of arboviral and emerging infectious diseases. Contributions may be sent to: Robert E. Shope, M.D. Memorial Fellowship, c/o Memorials and Tributes, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Blvd., Galveston, TX 77555-0148.
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