Throughout most of his career, Bloom's research has focused on health problems in developing countries. But this was not always the case. "I started out revolted by applied science," recalls Bloom. "I was going to be the most basic" of basic researchers. He changed his mind about the value of applied research on a trip to India in 1968, where, he says, "I gained perspective on the world, and what my training in medical research could do."
One aspect of this focus is the development of a multipurpose vaccine created by genetically engineering the bacillus BCG (bacille Calmette-Gurin). BCG, used to protect against tuberculosis, is the oldest and most widely used vaccine in the world. Bloom's lab, along with collaborators at the University of Pittsburgh and MedImmune Inc. of Gaithersburg, Md., have developed a method of introducing protective antigens for a variety of diseases into BCG, so that this vaccine ...
