Jonathan S. Allan 
Scientist | Virology and Immunology and SNPRC
Phone:
Summary
In Memorium (1952-2009)
Dr. Jonathan S. Allan passed away following a courageous battle with brain cancer on September 27, 2009.
Jon was an early pioneer in AIDS-related research with nonhuman primates. His research focused on the question of why African monkeys that carry SIV (the monkey form of HIV) remain healthy whereas Asian monkeys infected with SIV develop AIDS. A review of this topic, on which Jon is second author, appeared in the August 2009 issue of the prestigious journal, Nature Medicine (Towards an AIDS vaccine: Lessons from natural simian immunodeficiency virus infections of African nonhuman primate hosts. Nature Medicine 15:861-865, 2009).
Jon also was an author on numerous articles that dealt with transmission of viruses from nonhuman primates to humans. In the 1990s, he became an avid spokesperson against the use of baboons as donors of organs for transplantation into humans. He argued that the risk of zoonotic viral transmission from baboons to humans was great, and that viral mutations could lead to new pandemics such as AIDS. His position was controversial, and it was unpopular with many people, but in the end the scientific community reached the consensus that Jon was right. Jon performed a great public service by taking the courageous stand that he took, especially since it was the Southwest Foundation that provided the baboons used as organ donors and had the largest breeding colony of baboons in the world. A selected list of Jon’s publications on this topic can be viewed at: http://xenotransplant.ineu.org/xenotrans/people/Allanj.htm.
Jon came to the Southwest Foundation as an Assistant Scientist in the Department of Virology and Immunology on June 15, 1987. He worked his way up through the ranks to become a Scientist on December 26, 1992. He was involved in preparing the initial base grant application that led to the establishment of the Southwest National Primate Research Center in 1999, and he served as Leader of the SNPRC Retrovirus Diagnostics Laboratory until his death. Jon always had a smile which accompanied his great sense of humor, he was always willing to help when asked, and he made exceptionally thoughtful and articulate contributions to the committees on which he served.
Jon will be missed by all of us at SFBR and by his many friends and colleagues around the country.
Education
Doctoral Degree: D.V.M. Veterinary Medicine
Michigan State University East Landing, MI
Master's Degree: Microbiology
Vanderbilt School of Medicine Nashville, TN
Bachelor's Degree
Purdue University W. Lafayette, IN
Postdoctoral Work
Virology, Harvard University of Public Health, Boston, MA
Research Focus
Research focus: host and viral factors that contribute to disease caused by retroviruses. An important area for investigation is in understanding how seemingly harmless viral infections in monkeys can pose a serious risk to humans. To facilitate these studies, several nonhuman primate models have been developed to address human diseases including and AIDS and cancer.
Publications
Capture and transfer of simian immunodeficiency virus by macaque dendritic cells is enhanced by DC-SIGN.
Yu Kimata MT, Cella M, Biggins JE, Rorex C, White R, Hicks S, Wilson JM, Patel PG, Allan JS, Colonna M, Kimata JT
J. Virol. 76 (23): 11827-1183, 2002
PMID: 12414925
Simian immunodeficiency virus replicates to high levels in naturally-infected African green monkeys without inducing immunologic or neurologic disease.
Broussard, S., Staprans, S., White, R., Whitehead, R., Feinberg, M., and Allan, J.S.
J. Virol. 75 (5): 2262-2275, 2001
PMID: 11160730
