NVAC Public Member: Daniel F. Hoft, MD, PhD

NVAC Public Member | Term: 6/8/2020 – 6/7/2024

Dr. Hoft is the Dianna and J. Joseph Adorjan Endowed Chair of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, and Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Allergy & Immunology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He has been working in immunology and infectious diseases for 32 years. Dr. Hoft’s interests in infectious diseases started when he served as Senior Malaria Health Officer for the Peace Corps in Malaysia. Dr. Hoft then received his MD from the University of Missouri and was trained in Infectious Diseases at the University of Iowa, where he received an NIH Physician Science Training Award (PSTA) allowing him to complete a Ph.D. in microbiology/immunology. He came to Saint Louis University in 1992 and has received continuous NIH funding since his arrival. His group has pioneered use of immunoinformatics to develop T cell-targeting, “universal” vaccines to protect all human populations against future influenza pandemics. In addition to contributions in pre-clinical vaccinology, Hoft has conducted human trials with the goal of improving tuberculosis (TB) vaccines.  In 2014 he became the Principal Investigator of SLU’s Vaccine & Treatment Evaluation Unit (VTEU), one of nine NIH centers, which has received millions in NIH funding through contracts and awards, including a Vaccine & Treatment Evaluation Unit contract placing SLU among an elite group of top academic centers conducting phase I through III trials of novel vaccines for global protection against future pandemic challenges.  He received the 2018 Outstanding Scientist Award from the Academy of Science – St. Louis.