In Memoriam: Griffin, Diane E.
(1940-2024)
Diane Griffin, M.D., Ph.D., a leading infectious disease virologist, died Oct. 28, 2024, at the age of 84. She was University Distinguished Service Professor, Gilman Scholar and chair emeritus of the W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Diane Griffin received her B.A. in biology in 1962 from Augustana College, in Rock Island, Ill. She earned her M.D. and Ph.D. in microbiology at Stanford University, in Stanford, Calif., and completed her residency in internal medicine at Stanford University Hospital. In 1970, she joined John Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore, Md.) as a virology fellow, eventually becoming a full professor in 1985. In 1994, Griffin was appointed chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease, which she later renamed the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology to reflect the growing importance of molecular biology in the field. She served as department chair from 1994 to 2014, and founding director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute from 2001 to 2007. She was named a University Distinguished Service Professor in 2010.
Griffin’s research focused on the viral, cellular and immunologic determinants of diseases caused by alphaviruses and the measles virus. She made many ground-breaking contributions, and became a world-recognized expert on alphaviruses, acute encephalitis, measles, HIV and malaria. Griffin demonstrated that measles virus infection causes death primarily by increasing susceptibility to other infections. She showed that the measles virus leaves RNA particles for months after apparent recovery—a phenomenon which may contribute to lifelong protective immunity from measles. Griffin also led innovative work on the role of mosquitoes in malaria that is aiding treatment and control of the disease.
Beyond her research work, Griffin contributed greatly to supporting and advancing the science by actively participating in and leading committees, journals and study sections, and by mentoring countless numbers of students throughout her career. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 2004 and served as its vice president from 2013 to the time of her death (2024). She served on the National Research Council (NRC) Governing Board and the NAS Committee on International Security and Arms Control. She was also a member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and served on its Council, as well as on numerous NAS, NAM and NRC committees over more than 30 years.
A long-time member of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), Griffin served as ASM President (2006/07) and Editor in Chief of Journal of Virology from 1994-2004. She was an mBio editor from 2010 to the time of her death. She was an elected fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) and served on the AAM Board of Governors from 2009-2014.
Griffin served as President of the American Society for Virology in 1999-2000. She chaired the U.S.-Japan Viral Diseases Panel and advised the Israeli Vaccine Research Initiative and the WHO Ebola Vaccine Trial. She was an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) as well as the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). She frequently participated in National Institutes of Health (NIH) study sections, and chaired and co-chaired the Special AIDS Study Section and the Board of Scientific Counselors at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), respectively.
Other honors and awards include election as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, election as a fellow of the American Philosophical Society, and induction into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame in 2009. Griffin received the 2016 Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases for outstanding scientific contributions to the understanding of infectious diseases and public health. In 2017, she was awarded the prestigious ASM Alice C. Evans Award for Advancement of Women for her contributions toward the full participation and advancement of women in the microbial sciences.
Griffin is survived by 2 sons, Todd and Erik, their spouses, 3 grandchildren and 2 sisters. She was predeceased by her husband, John W. Griffin, a Johns Hopkins nerve disorder researcher who passed away in 2011.
Obituary posted to ASM website in November 2024
Sources:
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health website obituary
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) website obituary
Diane Griffin received her B.A. in biology in 1962 from Augustana College, in Rock Island, Ill. She earned her M.D. and Ph.D. in microbiology at Stanford University, in Stanford, Calif., and completed her residency in internal medicine at Stanford University Hospital. In 1970, she joined John Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore, Md.) as a virology fellow, eventually becoming a full professor in 1985. In 1994, Griffin was appointed chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease, which she later renamed the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology to reflect the growing importance of molecular biology in the field. She served as department chair from 1994 to 2014, and founding director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute from 2001 to 2007. She was named a University Distinguished Service Professor in 2010.
Griffin’s research focused on the viral, cellular and immunologic determinants of diseases caused by alphaviruses and the measles virus. She made many ground-breaking contributions, and became a world-recognized expert on alphaviruses, acute encephalitis, measles, HIV and malaria. Griffin demonstrated that measles virus infection causes death primarily by increasing susceptibility to other infections. She showed that the measles virus leaves RNA particles for months after apparent recovery—a phenomenon which may contribute to lifelong protective immunity from measles. Griffin also led innovative work on the role of mosquitoes in malaria that is aiding treatment and control of the disease.
Beyond her research work, Griffin contributed greatly to supporting and advancing the science by actively participating in and leading committees, journals and study sections, and by mentoring countless numbers of students throughout her career. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 2004 and served as its vice president from 2013 to the time of her death (2024). She served on the National Research Council (NRC) Governing Board and the NAS Committee on International Security and Arms Control. She was also a member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and served on its Council, as well as on numerous NAS, NAM and NRC committees over more than 30 years.
A long-time member of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), Griffin served as ASM President (2006/07) and Editor in Chief of Journal of Virology from 1994-2004. She was an mBio editor from 2010 to the time of her death. She was an elected fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) and served on the AAM Board of Governors from 2009-2014.
Griffin served as President of the American Society for Virology in 1999-2000. She chaired the U.S.-Japan Viral Diseases Panel and advised the Israeli Vaccine Research Initiative and the WHO Ebola Vaccine Trial. She was an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) as well as the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). She frequently participated in National Institutes of Health (NIH) study sections, and chaired and co-chaired the Special AIDS Study Section and the Board of Scientific Counselors at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), respectively.
Other honors and awards include election as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, election as a fellow of the American Philosophical Society, and induction into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame in 2009. Griffin received the 2016 Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases for outstanding scientific contributions to the understanding of infectious diseases and public health. In 2017, she was awarded the prestigious ASM Alice C. Evans Award for Advancement of Women for her contributions toward the full participation and advancement of women in the microbial sciences.
Griffin is survived by 2 sons, Todd and Erik, their spouses, 3 grandchildren and 2 sisters. She was predeceased by her husband, John W. Griffin, a Johns Hopkins nerve disorder researcher who passed away in 2011.
Obituary posted to ASM website in November 2024
Sources:
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health website obituary
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) website obituary