Herman Waldmann

British immunologist (born 1945)

Herman Waldmann FRS FMedSci (born 27 February 1945) is a British immunologist known for his work on therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. As of 2013, he is Emeritus Professor of Pathology at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at the University of Oxford.

Waldmann grew up in north east London, and was a student at the Sir George Monoux Grammar School, Walthamstow and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. He worked in the Department of Pathology of the University of Cambridge from 1973, becoming head of the Immunology Division in 1989. In 1994, he took up the position of head of the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at the University of Oxford. He is a fellow of Lincoln College. Waldmann's research has focused on immunological tolerance and the harnessing of tolerance mechanisms to treat autoimmune diseases and enable transplant acceptance. He is best known for his work on therapeutic monoclonal antibodies and their use to achieve tolerance, particularly Campath 1, now licensed as Lemtrada for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.

Waldmann was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1990. He delivered the 1992 Bradshaw Lecture at the Royal College of Physicians. In 1998, he was a founding fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctorate ScD(Hon) by the University of Cambridge. In 2010 he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP). In 2005 he received the Jose Carreras award from the European Hematology Association and also, the Excellence in Clinical Research Award from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. In 2007 he was awarded Thomas E Starzl Prize in Surgery and Immunology, and also, the Scrip Lifetime Achievement award from the Pharmaceutical industry. He is an honorary fellow of Queen Mary Westfield College, and of both King's College and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. He is an honorary member of the British Society for Immunology. In 2023 he was awarded the Royal Medal of the Royal Society.