Rate My Professor Timothy Springer

Timothy Springer is the Latham Family Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. He earned a B.A. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1971 and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Harvard University in 1976. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship with Cesar Milstein in Cambridge, England, he joined Harvard Medical School as Assistant Professor in 1977. He has held the Latham Family Professorship since 1989 and serves as Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, with additional appointments in the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Springer’s research has centered on adhesion receptors in the immune system. He discovered the lymphocyte function-associated (LFA) molecules, intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAMs), and the first subfamily of integrins, and he established the three-step paradigm for leukocyte diapedesis involving selectin-mediated rolling, chemoattractant activation, and integrin-mediated firm adhesion. These discoveries contributed to the development of FDA-approved therapeutics including efalizumab, alefacept, and vedolizumab. His current work examines how protein conformational changes and tensile force regulate the activation of integrins, von Willebrand factor, and members of the transforming growth factor-beta family, employing structural, cell biological, and single-molecule techniques. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His honors include the Crafoord Prize, the Canada Gairdner International Award, and the Lasker Basic Medical Research Award. Springer has authored more than 500 publications and holds over 30 patents.