Eloise R. Giblett
Puget Sound Blood Center
January 17, 1921 - September 16, 2009
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Scientific Discipline: Medical Genetics, Hematology, and Oncology Membership Type:
Emeritus
(elected 1980)
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Eloise R. Giblett conducted research that revolutionized our understanding of genetic hematology. She identified and characterized blood antigens, proteins that initiate an immune response, which allowed for more accurate determination of histocompatibility for transfusions and blood banking. In addition, she discovered that immune deficiency can be caused by a deficiency in adenosine deaminase, an enzyme involved in nucleic acid turnover in tissues. This deficiency results in inhibited lymphocyte proliferation, which compromises the immune system.
Giblett graduated with her B.S., M.S., and M.D. from the University of Washington, Seattle in 1951. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington in 1953 and attended the Post Graduate School of Medicine in London in 1954. In 1954 she began a long career at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She conducted her research at the Puget Sound Blood Center, where she was associate director from 1955 to 1979 and executive director until retirement in 1987.
