Kevin J. Tracey

Tracey was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on 10 December 1957. He received his B.S. in chemistry from Boston College in 1979 and his M.D. from Boston University in 1983. From 1983 to 1992 he trained in neurosurgery at the New York Hospital/Cornell University[3] with Russel Patterson. During this time he was also a guest investigator at Rockefeller University.

In 1992, Tracey moved to Northwell Health,[4] in Manhasset, New York, where he practiced neurosurgery and established the Laboratory of Biomedical Science (now the Center for Biomedical Science). In 2005 he was appointed president and CEO of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, and professor at and president of the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine (Manhasset, New York).[1]

Tracey studies inflammation; he turned to immunological research and inflammation after training as a neurosurgeon, due to his puzzlement over what happened to a young woman in his care who died of sepsis.[5] Training as both a neurosurgeon and immunologist merged in discovery of the mechanism by which neurons control the immune system.[6]

In the early 1980s, Tracey and colleagues described the inflammatory activity of TNF-α and other cytokines, which ultimately led to the discovery and development of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs for arthritis.[5] A subsequently expanding field of research confirmed that TNF is a mediator of septic shock, but not sepsis. This prompted Tracey to search for another mediator of sepsis, culminating in 1999 by identification of HMGB1, a protein previously known as a DNA-binding transcription factor, as a mediator and drug target in sepsis.[7] Tracey and his team developed a chemical called CNI-1493.[5] He discovered that CNI-1493 tells brain cells to activate a particular nerve, the vagus nerve.[5] Once activated, the nerve turns down TNF production.[5]

Further research led Tracey to study the role of the vagus nerve in controlling the immune system.[8] His work led him to hypothesize that stimulating the vagus nerve with electricity would alleviate inflammation.[9] In 2007 he co-founded a company called SetPoint Medical which aimed to develop vagus nerve stimulation devices to treat autoimmune diseases.[8][10][9] The company started clinical trials in 2011, and results published in 2016.[8] Additionally in 2011, Tracey and colleagues discovered a memory T cell subset that secretes acetylcholine in the spleen when activated by signals arising in the vagus nerve.[11]

In May 2018, Tracey was part of a team that was first to decode specific signals that the nervous system uses to communicate immune status and alert the brain to inflammation. Identifying these neural signals and what they're communicating about the body's health provides insight into diagnostic and therapeutic targets, and device development.[12]

In February 2019, Tracey along with a team led by Tak Mak, PhD and Maureen Cox, PhD, reported that T cell–derived acetylcholine (ACh) play an important role in regulating immunity.[13]

• Harvey Lecture Series, Harvey Society, 2018[14]
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2015
• Grenvik lectureship, University of Pittsburgh, 2013[15]
• Member, Association of American Physicians, 2009[16]
• Nancy Bucher lecture, Boston University School of Medicine, 2009[17]
• Honorary doctorate from the Karolinska Institute, 2009[18]
• Highly Cited Researcher in Immunology.[19]
• DeWitt Stetten Jr. lectureship, National Institute of Health, 2007[20]
• Member, American Society of Clinical Investigation, 2001[21]
• Recognized as one of the most cited researchers, listed among the top 1,000 worldwide, PLOS Biology, The Public Library of Science Magazine[22]

• Tracey, K. J. (2005). Fatal Sequence: The Killer Within. New York: Dana Press. ISBN 978-1932594065.
• Editor-in-chief, Bioelectronic Medicine[23]
• Advisory Editor, Journal of Experimental Medicine[24]
• Contributing Editor, Molecular Medicine[25]

• Official website