The Author

Professor Douglas Green is the author of the new book on cell death Means to an End: Apoptosis and Other Cell Death Mechanisms. He has been Chair of the Department of Immunology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital since 2005. Prior to that, he was Director of the Division of Cellular Immunology at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, where he worked for 15 years.

Doug has been active in the field of cell death since the late 1980’s, having defined the process of activation-induced apoptosis in T cells. He has made fundamental contributions to our understanding of the role of the oncogene Myc in driving apoptosis, the ability of BCL-2 proteins to block cell death, the functions of death receptors in cell death and the immune system, and the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis – publishing over 400 papers along the way. His current research focuses on mitochondrial physiology in cell survival and cell death, the functions of the BCL-2 family, and other aspects of cell death.

Doug says he works with many of the best researchers he has ever met. He is also claims to be great friends with some of the smartest people on the planet, whom he credits with helping him appear clever. When he isn’t writing papers and books, he plays the guitar badly and reads widely about many things completely unrelated to cell death.

Advertisement