biology

John La Montagne

John La Montagne is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand John La Montagne rather than just read about it. In short: John Ring La Montagne (January 1, 1943 – November 2, 2004) was a Mexican-American biomedical scientist who served as the deputy director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1998 to 2004. He specialized in viral vaccines, HIV/AIDS research, and oversaw NIH's biodefense research after the September 11 attacks.

Key takeaways

John La Montagne belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect John La Montagne to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of John La Montagne from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

John Ring La Montagne (January 1, 1943 – November 2, 2004) was a Mexican-American biomedical scientist who served as the deputy director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1998 to 2004. He specialized in viral vaccines, HIV/AIDS research, and oversaw NIH's biodefense research after the September 11 attacks.

Early life and education La Montagne was born in Mexico City on January 1, 1943. He studied microbiology at University of Texas at Austin. La Montagne completed a Ph.D. in bacterial genetics at Tulane University in 1971. He trained in the laboratory of Julius Youngner at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine where he researched animal viruses.

Career In 1976, he came to NIH as the Influenza Program Officer at the NIAID. He became the program officer for the viral vaccines program in 1983, and the Influenza and Viral Respiratory Diseases Program Officer in 1984. Beginning in 1986, La Montagne assumed the role of director of the AIDS program. In 1987 he was appointed director of the microbiology and infectious diseases program, which became a division in 1988. La Montagne was appointed Deputy Director of the NIAID in February 1998 and served until his death in November 2004. La Montagne made contributions to the national and international effort against emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, including biodefense-related activities, and has been recognized internationally for his leadership in this area. He played a central role in the organization of the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria, an international effort involving research, control, and development agencies from the U.S., Europe, and Africa. In addition, he served as a member of the Scientific Advisory Groups of Experts on Vaccines and Biologicals as well as for Vaccines and Immunization for the World Health Organization. He chaired the WHO Task Force on Strategic Planning for the Children's Vaccine Initiative, advised the Pan American Health Organization on their programs in vaccine research implementation, and served as a member of the board of the Global Alliance for Tuberculosis Drug Development. La Montagne also served as a member of the Biomedical Research Confederation Executive Steering Committee at Ft. Detrick, Maryland, and as co-chair of the Research and Development Gaps Working Group, a component of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council. His administrative leadership at NIH included membership on the NIH Community Advisory Board for Security and the recently formed NIH Ethics Advisory Committee.

Awards and honors La Montagne received prestigious awards for his scientific accomplishments, including the PHS Special Recognition Award for leadership in childhood vaccine research programs, the Surgeon General's Certificate of Appreciation, the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive, the Distinguished Executive Award for his work in the areas of infectious diseases research of global health relevance, the Secretary's Award for Distinguished Service for leadership of acellular pertussis vaccine trials, and most recently the Secretary's Award for Distinguished Service for design and implementation of critically important biodefense strategies.

Personal life La Montagne married Mary Elaine Elliot in 1968. He lived in Alexandria, Virginia for a majority of his life. He died of a pulmonary embolism on November 2, 2004, at the Mexico City International Airport.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John La Montagne

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John La Montagne claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to John La Montagne before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about John La Montagne ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of John La Montagne

In research: John La Montagne appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses John La Montagne in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: John La Montagne is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1943 births, 2004 deaths, 20th-century American biologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John La Montagne outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study John La Montagne in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what John La Montagne means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain John La Montagne out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is John La Montagne in simple terms?

Why does John La Montagne matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study John La Montagne?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on John La Montagne.