Frank began as a medical student at the University of Chicago in 1949, and, after receiving both his MD and PhD degrees, he remained on the faculty in the Department of Pathology. He was an active teacher, truly fitting the role of professor not only for graduate and medical students but also for undergraduates. He had a rare and special teaching style that encouraged independent thought and experience-based learning, which helped to drive an excitement for research. In 1983, when I was an undergrad in his BioSci class called “Defense Mechanisms,” he placed a tetanus toxoid intradermal injection in his left forearm right in front of us so that each day we could follow the development of a delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction and the cardinal signs of inflammation. In that same class, he would navigate the discussion toward a paradox, then ask students to propose ideas that could explain it—that is, to generate hypotheses. He would sit in silence—sometimes for multiple minutes—until someone primed the pump with some initial thoughts. What patience! He ran his lab, where I did my PhD work in the late 80s, more or less like an artist colony, his philosophy being that if you assemble a group of smart and motivated people in the same room and provide them with resources, something interesting and novel would eventually emerge. His job was to secure funding and then tweak your thinking and direction on the basis of his experience and wisdom, while ensuring rigorous data interpretation. And when he presented your work as part of a big talk at a major conference, he fully acknowledged you as the driver of the project. All of these practices converged to inspire students to become scientists.
Frank was too humble about his major accomplishments and leadership roles. Most are not even listed on his CV. He was a servant to the greater immunology community in multiple ways—president of the American Association of Immunologists (AAI), member of the AAI council, chair of the Publication Committee and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Immunology. While at the helm of JI, he pushed the transition of the traditional paper journal to the digital format. He served as president of FASEB, where one of his most important roles was to testify before congress to advocate for increased funding for biomedical research. While at the University of Chicago, he was promoted to professor in 1967 and held the Albert D. Lasker professorship. He served as associate dean for Education Affairs, associate dean for Academic Affairs and dean for Academic Affairs and was leader of the Immunology program within the Cancer Center. He was also director of the Ben May Labs, which became the Ben May Institute for Cancer Research under his leadership.
