Source(s):
Karen Holbrook 614-292-2424
Howard Johnson johnsonj@ufl.edu
GAINESVILLE, Fla.—Howard Johnson, a graduate research professor in the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, received an honorary doctoral degree from The Ohio State University August 29.
Karen Holbrook, president of Ohio State, said the honorary degree recognizes Johnson’s “distinguished career and extraordinary contributions to education, science and scientific policy.”
She said Johnson is an internationally recognized immunologist who was the first to show that molecules called interferons are important regulators of the immune system.
“His research has provided the basis for the use of interferons in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Dr. Johnson’s many other achievements include the use of proteins called superantigens to boost the immune system against cancer,” Holbrook said.
Johnson, who completed his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees at Ohio State, joined the UF faculty in 1984. In 1988, he became a graduate research professor in the microbiology and cell science department. He served as a UF Research Foundation Professor from 1997 to 2000.
The author of more than 260 scientific journal articles and other publications, Johnson is a member of many scientific societies, review groups and specialty boards, including the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and the New York Academy of Sciences.
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