Andrey S. Shaw, MD

Andrey S. Shaw, MD, the Emil R. Unanue Professor of Pathology and Immunology, is being honored for his important research contributions to the fields of immunobiology, kidney biology and basic cell signaling.

Shaw earned his bachelor’s degree in music from Columbia College in 1979 and his medical degree from Columbia University in 1984. He continued his training with a residency in anatomic pathology and a post-doctoral fellowship at Yale University. He joined the Washington University faculty in 1991 and became head of the Department of Pathology and Immunology’s Division of Immunobiology in 2006. He has been a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator since 2008.

Shaw’s colleagues describe him as a highly curious, creative and driven scientist. He is internationally known for his important contributions to the understanding of how T cells of the immune system recognize antigen and become activated. With colleagues at Washington University, he developed the concept of the immunological synapse, which describes a process of molecular reorganization required for T cell activation. In the process of defining that molecular arrangement, he identified a novel gene called CD2AP that he found played a critical role in the function of the kidney and when mutated leads to a human disease called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, one of the major causes of kidney failure in the United States. The work is considered a seminal contribution to the understanding of diseases of the kidney and is an example of translational research.

Shaw has been honored with nine Distinguished Service Teaching Awards from Washington University medical students. He is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, holds a National Institutes of Health (NIH) merit award, and maintains editorial responsibilities on several scientific journals. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts and is a frequent guest speaker around the country.