William E. Paul, M.D.

William E. Paul, M.D.
1994–1997

William E. Paul, M.D., served as the Director of OAR from February 1994 to October 1997. He received his undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College and his M.D. from the State University of New York Downstate College of Medicine. He began his research training during medical school, studying growth hormones with George Talbert, Ph.D. and completed his clinical training at Massachusetts Memorial Hospital (now Boston Medical Center) and the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Paul was a leading immunologist, well known for his discovery of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and for an extensive body of research that includes the purification of IL-4, the characterization of its receptor, and its signaling mechanisms. Under Dr. Paul’s leadership, OAR implemented broad new authorities provided by the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 intended to expand the role of OAR in determining national AIDS research policy. During his tenure, OAR developed the first annual comprehensive plan and unified budget for all NIH-sponsored AIDS scientific activities. Dr. Paul, who also headed the Laboratory of Immunology at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, left the directorship to return full time to his research, redirecting his scientific efforts to searching for a safe and effective HIV vaccine and for new approaches to vaccine development in general. Dr. Paul was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Science and of its Institute of Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Paul died in 2015, at the age of 79.