In the 1970s and 1980s, Dr. Levey was a basic research pioneer innovator in the fields of immunology and surgical transplantation. His major discoveries and surgical accomplishments include:
- The first demonstration that the thymus gland secretes an immunologically active hormone
- The first, most important series of renal transplants in the very young, which demonstrated the feasibility of successfully using adult kidneys in babies
- The description of an immunosuppressive regimen that allowed children to grow
- An important contribution to the treatment of a lethal complication of chemotherapy in children
- A description of a new method of vascular access (i.e., making it possible to hemodialyse children)
- The successful treatment of one of the dreaded complications of the treatment of leukemia
- The successful use of an immunosuppressive regimen using antithymocyte serum which was developed and produced in Dr. Levey’s laboratory
- Important contributions to the treatment of a common tumor in children and newborns. The series of patients treated had the best survival figures in the world
- Important demonstrations in allogenic bone marrow transplantation bridging the gap between laboratory investigation and clinical use
- Pioneering work on the evolution and maturation of the immune system
- Demonstration of the clinical use and importance of a whole new class of immunosuppressive agents
- Landmark research with Sir Peter Medawar (Nobel Laureate for Medicine 1960) at the National Iunstitutes for Medical Research London including the discovery of anti-lymphocyte serum, the first biological immunosuppresive agent
- Later, the ajacent MRC Collaborative Centre headed by Dr. Chris Hentschel mentioned in another case study bacame and still is a center of excellence for the development of antibody therapeutics.
