Hunein Maassab

Hunein (John) Maassab (Arabic: حنين معصّب‎) (born Hunein Maassab in Syria) was a Syrian-American professor of Epidemiology known for developing the Live attenuated influenza vaccine

Hunein Maassab
Born(1926-06-11)June 11, 1926
Damascus, Syria
DiedFebruary 1, 2014(2014-02-01) (aged 87)
North Carolina, United States
CitizenshipSyrian, American
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
Known forInventing the Live attenuated influenza vaccine
Scientific career
FieldsEpidemiology

Maassab was born June 11, 1926, in Damascus, Syria,[1] he immigrated to the United States in the late 1940s and started using the name John.[2] Maassab received his Bachelor of Arts in 1950 and Master of Arts 1952 University of Missouri. This was followed by Master of Public Health in 1954 and a Ph.D. in 1956 from the University of Michigan.[1]

In 1956, Maassab worked as an assistant researcher in the University of Michigan Department of Epidemiology, becoming a research associate in 1957, an assistant professor in 1960, an associate professor in 1965, and a full professor in 1973.[1] He served as epidemiology chairman between 1991-1997 and founded and was the first director of the school’s Hospital and Molecular Epidemiology Program.[1] In February 2003 he was named professor emeritus of epidemiology.[1][3]

Maassab first isolated the Influenza Type-A-Ann Arbor virus in 1960 and by 1967 had developed a cold-adapted virus. His research lasted 40 years and resulted in FluMist, a cold-adapted, live attenuated, trivalent influenza virus vaccine.[1] In June 2003, the Food and Drug Administration declared FluMist (the brand of the vaccine) safe for healthy people between the age of 5 to 49 who are not pregnant, then it was approved for children as young as 2.[2][3]

Massab died on February 1, 2014 at his home in North Carolina.[4]

References
  1. "Obituary: Hunein F. 'John' Maassab, developer of FluMist". University of Michigan.
  2. "Hunein Maassab, Who Developed FluMist Vaccine, Dies at 87". nytimes.
  3. "Former U-M professor Hunein Maassab, developer of FluMist, dies at 87". Mlive.com Booth Newspapers.
  4. "In Memoriam Dr. Hunein Maassab". The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Vaccine Education Center. Archived from the original on 2015-05-08. Retrieved 2015-05-31.
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