Timothy A. Springer

Tim A. Springer
Born	(1948-02-23) February 23, 1948 Fort Benning, Georgia, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Immunologist, biotechnology entrepreneur
Years active	1976–present
Known for	Discovery of integrins including LFA-1 and ICAMs; founding LeukoSite, Scholar Rock, Morphic Therapeutic; early investment in Moderna
Notable work	Discovery of integrins and ICAMs; Institute for Protein Innovation

Timothy "Tim" A. Springer (born February 23, 1948) is an esteemed immunologist and holds the Latham Family Professorship at Harvard Medical School. In addition, he is affiliated with the Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology as well as the Division of Medical Sciences, and serves as a Senior Investigator within the Research Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital. Springer gained recognition for his discovery of the initial integrins, notably including LFA-1, along with intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAMs), which elucidated their critical function in immune responses. His current scientific pursuits extend to studies on malaria, signaling pathways involving transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), and the properties of von Willebrand factor.

Early life and education

Born in 1948 at Fort Benning, Georgia, Springer was raised in a family with a medical background, his father being a physician. He attained a Bachelor of Arts degree in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1971 and subsequently earned his PhD under the mentorship of Jack Strominger at Harvard University in 1976.

Career

Following his doctoral studies, Springer undertook postdoctoral training with César Milstein at the University of Cambridge and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Returning to the United States, he joined Harvard Medical School as an assistant professor, was promoted to associate professor by 1983, and elevated to Latham Family Professor status in 1989.

Between 1981 and 1988, he led the Laboratory of Membrane Immunochemistry at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, later becoming a Senior Investigator at Boston's Immune Disease Institute until its integration into Boston Children's Hospital in 2012. Since that merger, he has continued his role as Senior Investigator within Boston Children's Hospital's Research Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine.

In 1993, Springer established LeukoSite, which went public in 1997 before being acquired by Millennium Pharmaceuticals in 1998. He also co-founded Scholar Rock in 2012 and Morphic Therapeutic in 2015, alongside early investments in Selecta Biosciences and Editas Medicine.

As an early investor in Moderna, Springer contributed USD $5 million in 2010, securing his position as the company's fourth-largest shareholder. He realized gains amounting to USD $400 million following Moderna's initial public offering in 2018. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Forbes estimated his net worth at approximately USD $1 billion, reflecting significant appreciation in biotechnology stock values.

In 2017, Springer co-established the Institute for Protein Innovation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to antibody research, supported by an initial grant of $10 million.

Research

Springer initiated his scientific investigations within immunology by examining how cytotoxic T cells interact with antigens—a process dependent on the presence of magnesium. He proposed that an additional protein, aside from the known T-cell receptor, participated in this mechanism. Through his work, he identified a novel protein targeted by a specific monoclonal antibody that inhibited cytotoxic T cell interactions with antigens. This protein was designated as LFA-1, characterized as a heterodimer composed of two distinct protein subunits.

Simultaneously, researchers Richard Hynes and Erkki Ruoslahti discovered proteins responsible for cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix, identifying fibronectin and its receptor—termed "integrin" by Hynes—which also consists of heterodimeric protein subunits. Springer demonstrated that one subunit shared significant DNA sequence homology with a fibronectin receptor subunit found on both LFA-1 and the macrophage-expressed antigen Mac-1, indicating these molecules belong to a related protein family.

His laboratory further identified ICAM-1, the ligand for LFA-1, which plays a vital role in enabling cytotoxic T cells to recognize antigens effectively. The innovative application of monoclonal antibodies throughout these discoveries paved the way for therapeutic antibodies targeting adhesion molecules designed to treat various autoimmune diseases.

Moreover, Springer elucidated the multistep cascade through which circulating white blood cells exit blood vessels to reach sites affected by injury or infection.

More recently, his investigations have broadened to include efforts toward developing vaccines against malaria, exploring signaling via transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), and studying how bleeding cessation is initiated through interactions involving the protein von Willebrand factor.

Personal life

Springer is an avid collector of gongshi. He is married to Chafen Lu, who previously served as an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and was once a member of his laboratory. Springer has five children in total, three of whom are from his first marriage.

He established the Institute for Protein Innovation, a nonprofit biomedical research center based in Boston, to which he actively contributes. Additionally, Springer holds several endowed professorships at institutions including Harvard Medical School, Boston Children's Hospital, and the University of California, Berkeley.

Honors and awards

• Basic Research Prize from the American Heart Association (1993)
• William B. Coley Award recognizing outstanding research in Basic and Tumor Immunology (1995)
• Elected member of the National Academy of Sciences (1996)
• Inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2001)
• Recipient of the Crafoord Prize in Polyarthritis (2004)
• Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship (2004)
• Named Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2013)
• Honored with the AAI-Thermo Fisher Meritorious Career Award by the American Association of Immunologists (2014)
• Received the Henry M. Stratton Medal from the American Society of Hematology (2014)
• Canada Gairdner International Award laureate (2019)
• Winner of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (2022)
• Awarded the Robert Koch Prize (2023)

He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, graduating with Phi Beta Kappa honors.