Tom has earned an international reputation for his scientific discoveries. He has been invited to lecture around the world, in Brussels, Siena, Budapest, San Francisco, Cambridge England, and Jerusalem, among other places.

His discoveries include two fundamental molecular biology breakthroughs, cloning of a critical hormone of the immune system, and contributions to evolutionary biology.

THE FLAG EPITOPE. Molecular biologists and genetic engineers throughout the world rely on a technique originated by Dr. Hopp: the epitope tagging procedure. When Tom and his colleagues at Immunex Corporation set out in 1983 to create what would prove to be one of the most useful and widely applied techniques in the field, no one had ever heard of the concept. Today, many labs use the technique in virtually every field of science and medicine, without knowing who originated it. More.

HYDROPHILICITY ANALYSIS. Tom's first scientific breakthrough occurred while he was still in graduate school at Cornell Medical College. He originated the concept that the hydrophilic/hydrophobic nature of amino acid building blocks of proteins could be analyzed for valuable practical applications in the field of molecular biology and medicine. Since then, scientists throughout the world have routinely utilized Tom's hydropathic plotting method or the procedure of Kyte and Doolittle, who took their idea from Tom. More.

INTERLEUKIN 1. Tom led a team of 30 Immunex scientists in a race to clone Interleukin 1 before teams in other companies around the world could beat him to the punch. Teams in the U.S. and Japan succeeded in cloning IL-1, but Tom's group outdid them, cloning two separate genes for IL-1, and discovering an entirely new biological mechanism for protein hormone secretion, the caspase activation system. Controversy dogged Tom's steps, as competing companies sued Immunex over who made the discoveries first, with $164 million in the balance. More.

BIRD EVOLUTION. Tom stepped into another scientific controversy when he proposed that the small dinosaurian ancestors of birds evolved wing feathers, not to fly, but to brood their young. Flying, according to his theory, came later. More.

Tom is still highly active in the biotechnology field, although his lab work has taken a back seat to executive-level engagements. One day, he'd like to re-enter the lab and make more breakthroughs at the scientific work bench.