After nearly four decades, Barton Haynes, MD, has decided to step down as director of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI). Dr. Haynes will remain an integral member of our faculty, continuing his pioneering research and deep commitment to mentorship. Dr. Haynes has agreed to continue to serve as director until his successor is identified.
Prior to joining the Duke University School of Medicine faculty in 1980 as an associate professor of medicine, Dr. Haynes worked for several years as a chief clinical associate and senior investigator at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). In 1988, Dr. Haynes became the Frederic M. Hanes Distinguished Professor of Medicine, and in 1990, he founded DHVI.
Throughout his remarkable career in immunology research, Dr. Haynes has made major contributions to basic and translational immunologic research that have directly benefited human health. These achievements include co-developing human thymic transplantation as a curative treatment for DiGeorge Syndrome, which is now FDA-approved and commercially available. He also made important discoveries about how the body fights HIV, helping scientists understand how powerful protective antibodies develop over time. This strategy, demonstrated by Dr. Haynes to be successful in monkeys and humans, is now used broadly in the HIV vaccine research field. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Haynes and his DHVI colleagues have been working to develop vaccines and therapeutic antibodies to prevent future coronavirus pandemics.
Under Dr. Haynes’ leadership, DHVI has developed several state-of-the-art facilities where HIV antigens, mRNA therapies and vaccines, and other cell or bacterial-based products are manufactured. These facilities position DHVI as one of the most globally advanced vaccine institutes in the country.
Dr. Haynes has also held several other influential leadership positions at Duke. He served as division chief of Rheumatology and Immunology in the Department of Medicine from 1987 to 1995, chair of the Department of Medicine from 1995 to 2002, and physician-in-chief at Duke University Hospital from 2000 to 2002.
Dr. Haynes has received multiple research awards and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Inventors, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Peter Allen, MD, David C. Sabiston, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Surgery and chair of the Department of Surgery, will lead a committee through a national search to identify Dr. Haynes’ successor.
We are profoundly grateful to Dr. Haynes for his exemplary leadership and dedication to advancing the science of vaccine development. We look forward to his continued contributions to our community and the field of infectious disease prevention. Please join me in thanking Dr. Haynes for his remarkable leadership and in supporting DHVI as we begin this important next chapter.