In Memoriam 
Robert Ellis Shope 
1929–2004

R Ellis Shope, one of the world’s most distinguished arbovirologists and a dear friend of many colleagues around the world, died of complications of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in Galveston, Texas, on January 19, 2004, at age 74. Bob is survived by his wife, Virginia; his daughters, Deborah Shope and Bonnie (Shope) Rice; his sons, Peter and Steve; his brothers, Thomas and Richard; his sister, Nancy (Shope) FitzGerrell; and six grandchildren. It is difficult to describe Bob’s many contributions to virology, epidemiology, tropical medicine, infectious disease sciences, vector biology, and international public health because they are so numerous and varied. His lifelong contributions to our understanding of arthropod-borne viruses, hemorrhagic fever viruses, and the diseases these viruses cause are without equal. He discovered and characterized more previously unknown viruses than any other person in history. Working at various times in nearly every country where these viruses and diseases are important, he collaborated with virtually everyone who has worked in these fields in the past 50 years. Until his death, he remained an international leader in framing the global response to emerging and reemerging diseases and our national response to bioterrorism, while at the same time keeping his own laboratory productive—his research was funded continuously by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for 26 years. Arguably, Bob’s most important contribution was his co-chairing, along with Joshua Lederberg and Stanley Oaks, of the Institute of Medicine Committee on Emerging Microbial Threats to Health. The proceedings of this committee led to the publication in 1992 of Emerging Infections: Microbial Threats to Health in the United States (National Academy Press). This seminal publication, which outlined factors implicated in the emergence of infectious diseases and the programs and resources needed to cope with them, initiated much of the current worldwide interest in infectious diseases. He then spent endless days explaining the concepts underpinning the report in order to gain public and political support. His efforts were marked by great success, as evidenced by the revitalized state of the infectious disease sciences today. Bob was born in Princeton, New Jersey, the son of Richard Shope, an internationally renowned virologist. He received BA and MD degrees from Cornell University and completed an internship in internal medicine at Grace-New Haven Hospital (Yale University School of Medicine). He then spent 3 years in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, where he was initially assigned to Camp Detrick (now the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases) and later to the U.S. Army Medical Research Unit in Kuala Lumpur. The latter experience, involving studies on the etiology of fevers of unknown origin among British soldiers and the local Malaysian civilian population, had a profound effect on his subsequent research interests and career decisions. After starting a residency in internal medicine at Yale, he left to take a staff position with the Rockefeller Foundation’s International Virus Program in its laboratory in Belem, Brazil (now the Instituto Evandro Chagas). There he remained for 6 years, eventually serving as director of that institute. This was a time of great excitement and discovery, as many new viruses were being isolated and characterized. In 1965, Bob returned from Brazil to Yale, where most of the senior staff of the Rockefeller Foundation’s overseas virus program had relocated and were establishing the Yale Arbovirus Research Unit (YARU). Bob remained at Yale for 30 years, rising to the rank of professor and director of that research unit. In 1995, Bob moved to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where he held several appointments: professor (Department of Pathology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health), associate director of the university’s Center for Biodefense (and John S. Dunn Distinguished Chair in Biodefense), and member (Sealy Center for Environmental Health & Medicine, Sealy Center for Structural Biology, and World Health Organization [WHO] Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases). At various times throughout his long career, Bob served as president and councilor, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; chair and member, Advisory Council, James A. Baker Institute for Animal Health, Cornell University; member, WHO Expert Panel on Virus Diseases, and member U.S. Delegation to the U.S.–Japan Cooperative Medical Science Program, International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), Armed Forces Epidemiology Board, Advisory Board of the Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Institute of Medicine Committee on Improving Civilian Medical Response to Chemical and Biological Terrorism