by Dr. William C. Campbell, Drew University (retired)
and Meguro Parasitological Museum, Japan
William C. Campbell Nobel Laureate
Drew University (retired)
Nobel Prize in Medicine, 2015
Parasitologist, Fellow 1990–2010, RISE Associate since 2010, formerly Senior Director, Basic Parasitology, Merck & Company, Inc.
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 1957
Research Interests: Parasitology, chemotherapy of parasitic infections
RISE Fellow Associate Dr. William Campbell, received the Nobel Prize for discovering a drug that treats parasitic diseases. Campbell shares the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Satoshi Omura of Japan. The drug they discovered is avermectin, and a derivative, ivermectin, has significantly lowered the incidences of River Blindness and Lymphatic Filariasis.
Address: 4-1-1 Shimomeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-0064, JAPAN (153-0064 東京都目黒区下目黒4-1-1)
TEL 03-3716-1264
FAX 03-3716-2322
The Meguro Parasitological Museum is a private research facility that was established in 1953 with the private funds of a medical doctor, Satoru Kamegai. The museum exhibits about 300 parasite specimens and related materials. On the first floor we present the “Diversity of Parasites” displaying various types of parasite specimens with accompanying educational movies. The second floor exhibits are “Human and Zoonotic Parasites” showing parasite life cycles and the symptoms they cause during human infection. In addition to research, the museum also performs other activities such as education, and provides special publications.
Museum Activities
Research
The researchers at this museum collect parasites of various animals and conduct studies on morphology, taxonomy, distribution of parasites, etc. They also give presentations at academic meetings and submit articles to academic journals.
Education
The museum offers work-study programs and lectures, and sells prepared parasite specimens for educational purposes.
Collection
The museum collects and preserves about 60,000 parasite specimens (including 1,500 type specimens).
The museum also contains 50,000 papers and 6,000 books on parasitology and parasitic diseases.
Publication
The museum has published a wide variety of documents such as "Progress of Medical Parasitology in Japan" and "Research Bulletin of the Meguro Parasitological Museum".