W. Neal
biologist researcher molecular biologist
Walter Neal Burnette was born on August 14, 1944. He developed an early interest in science and initially studied theater before concentrating on biology and chemistry. His later career combined molecular biology, recombinant-vaccine research, biotechnology management, and military service in infectious-disease and biological-defense programs.
Burnette attended Texas Christian University, where he received undergraduate degrees in biology and chemistry, recorded in the institutional biography as Bachelor of Arts training completed in 1968. He then pursued doctoral training in retrovirology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1975. His postdoctoral training in molecular biology followed at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Burnette began his scientific career as a postdoctoral fellow in molecular biology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine from 1975 to 1977. He then joined the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where he worked as a research scientist from 1977 through 1992 in successive appointments. While at Fred Hutchinson in Seattle, he developed the protein-transfer and immunodetection procedure published in 1981 as “Western blotting,” a name coined in reference to the laboratory’s West Coast location and the earlier Southern and Northern blot techniques. He subsequently worked on the research staff of the Salk Institute before becoming one of the early scientists at Applied Molecular Genetics, later known as Amgen. At Amgen, he led programs directed toward experimental recombinant vaccines for hepatitis B, pertussis, cholera, and animal infectious diseases, as well as genetic toxoids designed to remove toxic activity while retaining immunogenic properties. He left Amgen in 1992 and in 1993 became president and chief executive officer of Molecular Pharmaceutics Corporation. He later served as an executive and consultant for smaller biomedical companies, advising on vaccine research, biomedical business development, corporate management, and capital acquisition. Burnette also served in the U.S. Army Reserve for approximately 35 years. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, he was mobilized as an infectious-diseases specialist, developed an algorithm for assessing infectious-disease threats to military operations, advised the Pentagon’s chemical and biological defense program, and worked on acquisition of smallpox and anthrax vaccines for U.S. and allied forces. From 2004 to 2005 he served with a U.S. Army Reserve public-affairs unit in Los Angeles that advised filmmakers on military authenticity. He retired from the Army in 2005 with the rank of colonel.
Coined the term “Western blotting” and developed a widely used protein-transfer and immunodetection procedure for identifying specific antigens in complex protein mixtures.
Led recombinant-vaccine programs involving hepatitis B, pertussis, cholera, and animal infectious diseases.
Developed genetic toxoid approaches for pertussis and cholera by modifying toxin subunits to reduce toxicity while preserving immunogenic properties.
(Chapter co-authored by W. Neal Burnette and colleagues in...)
1984(Single-author article in Analytical Biochemistry, volume ...)
1981Burnette has been associated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the American Society for Microbiology, the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, and the Society of Armed Forces Medical Laboratory Scientists.
Burnette has described laboratory research as the period when he was most effective and has spoken with continuing satisfaction about the enduring use of Western blotting. He has also characterized himself as an avid but self-deprecating golfer.
Quotes from others about the person
Burnette’s 1981 article introducing the term “Western blotting” became a highly cited contribution to biochemical and molecular-biological methods. He has said that he was pleased to make a contribution to science that became widely used, while acknowledging that he did not anticipate the technique’s lasting influence.
Burnette is married and has maintained professional connections with biomedical researchers, vaccine-development organizations, biotechnology companies, and U.S. military biological-defense programs. His documented scientific collaborations include work with researchers involved in recombinant hepatitis B vaccine development and related molecular vaccine studies.
