All Systems Go

Alan Aderem earned his PhD while under house arrest for protesting apartheid in South Africa. His early political involvement has guided his scientific focus, encouraging fellow systems biologists to study immunology and infectious diseases.

head shot of blond woman wearing glasses
| 9 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
9:00
Share

ALAN ADEREM
President, Seattle BioMed
Professor of immunology and medicine, University of Washington Cofounder, Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, Washington
COURTESY OF SEATTLE BIOMED
Born and raised in South Africa during the apartheid era (1948–1994), Alan Aderem became increasingly politically active—an underground involvement that put his science career in jeopardy. “I didn’t know what the future would hold. I was regularly being arrested. There was conscription for white males, and I knew I was going to refuse to go, so all that uncertainty made me not really think ahead too far about my science.”

Aderem experienced apartheid firsthand. “I remember very well that there could be 100 blacks waiting in line and as a little white kid walking into a store, they would serve me first. I had a black woman who looked after me that I considered a second mother, and I couldn’t figure out why she was a second-class citizen. That stuff bothered me and drove me to politics,” he says. By the end of high school, Aderem was participating in student protests—and getting arrested for it. At university, together with friends, Aderem started a workers’ advice program that evolved into a black trade union. Aderem also edited a community newspaper called Phambili, which was circulated within Cape Town’s black townships.

“I wanted congruence in my life, ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo
New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

Sino

Products

Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide

Explore a Concise Guide to Optimizing Viral Transduction

A Visual Guide to Lentiviral Gene Delivery

Takara Bio
Inventia Life Science

Inventia Life Science Launches RASTRUM™ Allegro to Revolutionize High-Throughput 3D Cell Culture for Drug Discovery and Disease Research

An illustration of differently shaped viruses.

Detecting Novel Viruses Using a Comprehensive Enrichment Panel

Twist Bio