- Rita Allen Foundation

All Scholars

Since 1976, the Rita Allen Foundation has awarded millions of dollars in grants to early-career biomedical scholars. These grants allow Rita Allen Foundation Scholars to establish labs and pursue research directions with above-average risk and promise. See below for a full list of Scholars, or read more about the Rita Allen Foundation Scholars program.

1979

John Condeelis
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Paul H. Patterson +
California Institute of Technology (Harvard Medical School)

Paul H. Patterson

Paul Patterson (1943–2014) completed his undergraduate studies at Grinnell College. He earned a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University, where he worked with William Lennarz. As a postdoc at Harvard Medical School, Patterson conducted pioneering research on neural plasticity with Edwin Furshpan and David Potter. He then became a faculty member at Harvard, before moving to Caltech in 1983. Patterson explored links between the immune system and the nervous system—he became known as a “neuroimmunologist”—and developed mouse models of schizophrenia and autism. He was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Stephen A. Udem +
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Stephen A. Udem

Stephen Udem (1994–2014) studied chemistry at City College, and earned M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in the Medical Scientist Training Program at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He worked as an infectious disease clinician at several New York and New Jersey hospitals over the course of his career. Udem also made critical contributions to the fields of virology and vaccinology, first through academic research and later through his work in vaccine development in both industry and nonprofit settings.

Much of his research focused on mechanisms of viral persistence in the central nervous system. From 1994 to 2006, he held various leadership positions at Wyeth, where he managed the expansion of the company’s vaccine programs. Udem then directed vaccine development efforts at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative before establishing his own consultancy practice for vaccine R&D. He was a member of the American Medical Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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