It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Pathology and former member of the academic senate Michael N. Oxman, M.D. The pioneering virologist and infectious disease physician-scientist passed away on Jan. 15 at the age of 88.
Throughout his career spanning over six decades, Dr. Oxman was known for his intellectual rigor, dedication to scientific excellence and commitment to improving public health. He was a respected authority on herpesviruses and their management, publishing extensively in leading medical journals and contributing to major infectious disease textbooks. His work helped establish San Diego as a center of excellence in infectious disease research.
Dr. Oxman joined the faculty at UC San Diego School of Medicine in 1976 as a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Pathology and became the chief of the Infectious Diseases Section of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System. He was a critical force behind the school's rigorous curriculum in medical microbiology. He mentored generations of physicians and researchers, while conducting groundbreaking research, including authoring more than 170 peer-reviewed scientific publications, books and book chapters.
His dual roles at UC San Diego and the VA allowed him to bridge the gap between laboratory research and clinical practice, advancing both the science and treatment of viral diseases. Dr. Oxman's most significant scientific achievement was his leadership of the Shingles Prevention Study, a critical clinical trial that led to the first therapeutic vaccine for herpes zoster (shingles). This landmark research, conducted over more than a decade and involving nearly 40,000 participants, demonstrated that vaccination could reduce the risk of shingles by more than 50% in people over 60. His extraordinary achievement was recognized by many awards including the 2005 VZV Research Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2005 Harold L. Stewart Lectureship at the Uniformed Services of the Health Sciences, the 2014 Veterans Research Alliance Award for Excellence, and the 2014 Department of Veterans Affairs John Blair Barnwell Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievements in Clinical Research.
In addition to his research and clinical practice, Dr. Oxman served on the NIAID Task Force on Virology, the NIH Experimental Virology Study Section, the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board and the U.S. Defense Health Board. He was a Fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America and a member of the American Society for Virology, the American Society for Microbiology, the Edward Jenner Society, the Society for General Microbiology, the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Editorial Advisory Committee of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Dr. Oxman is survived by his wife, Marcie Moore Oxman; his brother, Jon Oxman, and sister-in-law, Marjorie Oxman of Cape Elizabeth, ME; his niece, Jennifer Oxman Ryan, and her husband Jake Ryan of Portland, ME; and his nephew, Jason Oxman, and his wife, Annemarie Oxman of Arlington, VA.
