Thomas McDade
Thomas Wesley McDade is an American biological
anthropologist. He is a Fellow of the American Thomas McDade
Association for the Advancement of Science, the Born Des Plaines, Illinois, USA
National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academic background
Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Education BA, biosocial anthropology,
Pomona College
PhD, anthropology, 1999, Emory
Early life and education University
McDade was born in Des Plaines, Illinois and Thesis Culture change, stress, and
graduated from Pomona College with a degree in immune function in Western
biosocial anthropology. Following this, he completed Samoan youth (1999)
his PhD in anthropology from Emory University and Academic work
postdoctoral fellowship at the Carolina Population Institutions Northwestern University
Center.[1]
Career
Upon completing his fellowship, McDade joined the faculty at Northwestern University (NU), in 2000.[1]
Early in his tenure at NU, McDade was the recipient of an Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists
and Engineers for "undertaking important research that may ultimately improve child health through a
better understanding of the social and environmental factors that affect the development of the human
immune system."[2] Following this, McDade developed a minimally invasive finger-prick technique to
study the connections between stress and health problems. He used this technique to examine bio-markers
in populations in Samoa, Kenya, and Bolivia.[3] McDade later became the director of the Laboratory for
Human Biology Research and of Cells to Society (C2S): The Center on Social Disparities and Health, as
well as the director of the Graduate Cluster in Society, Biology, and Health. As such, he was elected a
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[4]
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, McDade collaborated with Feinberg investigators, Richard
D’Aquila, Brian Mustanski and Elizabeth M. McNally, to develop an at-home COVID-19 antibody test
that can determine prior exposure to the SAR-CoV-2 virus using a drop of blood.[5] Later, he received a
grant for his project "A bio-ecological integrative approach to understand the ‘hidden costs’ of COVID-19
on children."[6] In June 2020, McDade applied his at-home COVID-19 antibody test towards another
project titled "Screening for Coronavirus Antibodies in Neighborhoods." The aim of the study was to test
antibodies amongst pre-exposed Chicagoans.[7] As a result of his research, McDade was elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences[8] and National Academy of Sciences.[9]
References
1. "Thomas W. McDade" ([Link]
l). National Academy of Science. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
2. "The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers: Recipient Details" (http
s://[Link]/awards/PECASE/recip_details.jsp;jsessionid=C5AD67CCC590A7136A73F
A10C8FA3151?pecase_id=140). National Science Foundation. Retrieved November 5,
2021.
3. Jones, Patrice M. (October 10, 2006). "Stress and Health" ([Link]
p/88617646/stress-and-health/). Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 9, 2021 – via
[Link].
4. Fellman, Megan (November 23, 2015). "Two Named AAAS Fellows" ([Link]
[Link]/stories/2015/11/aaas-fellows). Northwestern University. Retrieved November 9,
2021.
5. Hurd Anyaso, Hilary (May 6, 2020). "Northwestern team develops new antibody test for
COVID-19" ([Link]
Northwestern University. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
6. Hurd Anyaso, Hilary (August 6, 2020). "Anthropologists Katherine Amato and Thomas
McDade receive grants for COVID-19-related health projects" ([Link]
u/stories/2020/08/anthropologists-katherine-amato-and-thomas-mcdade-receive-grants-for-c
ovid-19-related-health-projects/). Northwestern University. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
7. Paul, Marla (March 18, 2021). "Home blood test for COVID-19 antibodies can measure
vaccine effectiveness and progress toward herd immunity" ([Link]
ories/2021/03/home-blood-test-for-covid-19-antibodies/). Northwestern University. Retrieved
November 9, 2021.
8. Fellman, Megan (April 22, 2021). "Faculty elected to American Academy of Arts and
Sciences" ([Link]
emy-of-arts-and-sciences). Northwestern University. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
9. "Professor Thomas McDade elected to the National Academy of Sciences" ([Link]
[Link]/2021/04/26/professor-thomas-mcdade-elected-to-the-national-acad
emy-of-sciences/). Northwestern University. April 26, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
External links
Thomas McDade ([Link] publications
indexed by Google Scholar
Retrieved from "[Link]
