A microbiologist, Hilleman was particularly interested in preventing disease. He developed vaccines for chickenpox, encephalitis, Haemophilus influenzae (a brain-damaging flu), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, pneumonia, rubella (German measles), and more — about 40 in all.
He also figured out how to combine various vaccines so they could be given together, most notably the MMR (for measles, mumps, and rubella), and discovered that viruses can “drift” or “shift” (mutate), which knowledge helped him to produce more effective flu vaccines. Through his work Hilleman has saved more lives than any other human who has ever lived, and he laid the foundation for much of the preventative medicine practiced today.
“The scientific quality and quantity of what he did was amazing,” says Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “Just one of his accomplishments would be enough to have made for a great scientific career.” Hilleman was presented the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest scientific honor, by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Dr. Hilleman died April 11 in Philadelphia from cancer. He was 85.