STERLING, Virginia – November 4, 2003 – Health Studies Collegium (HSC), a health policy and clinical outcomes research foundation, announced today that, Russell Jaffe, MD, Ph.D. has been named an International Scientist of the Year (2003) by the International Biographical Commission (IBC) of Cambridge, England. The IBC is the world’s oldest and acclaimed “who’s who” scientist recognition society. Dr. Jaffe is one of just 200 scientists in the world to receive this honor.

Dr. Jaffe, a Senior Fellow with HSC, was recognized for his contributions to Medicine, Biochemistry, and Clinical Immunology. In particular, he was sited for advancing the science of functional immunomics. Immunomics is the functional study of how the immune system responds to the world outside itself. Beyond genomics and proteomics, immunomics represents a clinical opportunity to determine which specific items we are exposed to are burdensome (reactive) and which are tolerant (non-reactive). More importantly, Dr. Jaffe has pioneered clinical and therapeutic protocols to restore tolerance to reactive immune systems. His work has enabled sustained remissions in autoimmune conditions such as diabetes, thyroiditis, multiple sclerosis (MS), and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and immune dysfunction conditions such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS), by addressing their underlying, individual causes rather than their symptomatic consequences.

“I am honored to have received this unique and prestigious recognition from such a distinguished society as the IBC for my research and development work in the field of immunomics,” said Dr. Jaffe. “As I continue to experience how this work positively impacts the lives of patients suffering with chronic immune conditions, I am inspired by the potential for the immune system to restore itself to a tolerant, non-reactive state through comprehensive, integrated management.” “Russell Jaffe’s visionary advances in the fields of biochemistry and clinical immunology have revolutionized how physicians and healthcare professionals successfully treat autoimmune and immune dysfunction conditions,” said Robert Pumphrey, MD, Associate Clinical Lab Director of ELISA/ACT Biotechnologies LLC. “The proven impacts of Russell’s clinical work on restoring and resetting immune system function and determining the causes of chronic illness are groundbreaking. His acknowledgment by the IBC is well-deserved and a testament to his true gift as a physician, researcher, and clinician.”

“Dr. Jaffe represents what a physician scientist can be: a compassionate listener, open minded, rigorous in evaluating the evidence for and against an approach, and careful in his methods to advance the cause of healthcare,” said Ed Morris, retired School District Administrator, Medical Research Project Administrator, and a long-time patient of Dr. Jaffe’s. Dr. Jaffe developed the first high sensitivity (enzyme amplified) lymphocyte response assays (LRA by ELISA/ACT®) in 1984. Lymphocytes are the circulating immune system’s memory carrying cells. This approach allows the first individualized determination of immune delayed allergic reactions. The system is comprehensive and highly reproducible with a split sample daily variance of less than 3% of the items tested. This compares with 15-30% variance for other lymphocyte cell culture methods and 5-15% variance for older antibody procedures (like ELISA IgG / EIA). Further, this method distinguishes beneficial (neutralizing) from harmful (reactive) antibodies. In addition, this method measures all delayed allergic paths: All antibody types (IgG, IgA, and IgM), immune complex reactions (IgM anti-IgG antigen complexes), and direct T lymphocyte cell-mediated delayed immune reactions.

Dr. Jaffe and his colleagues have used this approach to conduct successful long-term clinical outcome studies in Fibromyalgia (treatment-resistant muscle pain) and chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS). Follow up of 5-10 years are now underway continuing to show sustained remissions. This work is described in Fibromyalgia: My Journey to Wellness by Claire Musickant. Successful outcome studies, based on LRA by ELISA/ACT tests, have also been conducted in type 1 (insulin dependent) and type 2 (adult) diabetes. These studies have been reported in scientific meetings and are currently undergoing peer review for scientific publication.

Dr. Jaffe is also the director of ELISA/ACT Biotechnologies LLC, which has developed 420 assays based on the core LRA by ELISA/ACT technology. This technology allows the largest and most comprehensive array of items that can be tested for an individual’s immune tolerance (health) or hypersensitivity (delayed allergy). Due to microminiaturization, all 420 cell cultures can now be performed on just one ounce of whole blood, which is the amount of blood an adult can manufacture in about one hour.

Dr. Jaffe grew up in Albany, NY where he attended Albany High School. He received his AB, MD, and Ph.D. from Boston University, all in May 1972. He was the first to combine Boston University’s AB/MD and MD/Ph.D. programs. Dr. Jaffe’s dissertation on the mechanism of dpenicillamine inhibition of connective tissue (collagen and elastin) cross-links led to a fundamental rethinking of how penicillamine binds to and inhibits the cross-linking process. The clinical importance of this work is that the cross-link inhibition can be separated from another important clinical benefit of d-penicillamine, i.e., removing toxic minerals (lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and nickel) from the cells and tissues of the body. Dr. Jaffe studied under Dr. Carl Franzblau, now Chairman of the Biochemistry Department of Boston University Medical Center. Dr. Jaffe was active in the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), including serving as assistant editor of their magazine (The New Physician) from 1970-1972.

In collaboration with Dr. Dan Deykin, then Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School as well as Director of the Coagulation Lab at Beth Israel Hospital and later Director of Research for the Veterans Administration, Dr. Jaffe worked out the mechanism by which collagen activates blood platelets. This action is important in understanding the interaction of structural proteins and blood clotting.

Dr. Jaffe did his residency in Clinical Pathology at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center. He holds board certification in Clinical Pathology and in subspecialty certification in Chemical Pathology. While at NIH Dr. Jaffe developed several fundamental methods including an early colon cancer screening test (occult blood test) not subject to inhibition by ascorbic acid (a cause of false negative results in earlier methods). In addition, Dr. Jaffe helped found the International and American Associations of Clinical Nutrition (IAACN) to train clinical nutritionists. He served as national program director for the first eight years of their annual meetings. He was also one of the first Certified Clinical Nutritionists (CCN) in the United States.

Dr. Jaffe is a Fellow of the American Society for Clinical Pathology, a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition, a Scientific Fellow of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, and was recently elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and reviews. He teaches and lectures widely while continuing his research on the causes and consequences of immune defense and repair responses in health and disease. He holds five fundamental patents on aspects of immune function and nutrient biochemistry.

About Health Studies Collegium

The Health Studies Collegium (HSC) is a twelve-year-old clinical research and health policy institute. The HSC focuses on researching the mechanisms of health. The HSC also conducts community-based, randomized controlled trials (RCT) to test the clinical and cost-effectiveness of health promotion models. The HSC is based in Sterling, VA.