He served on the faculty of Rockefeller University for nearly thirty years, becoming the Leon Hess Professor of Virology.
Until his death in 2021, he was the chair of the Scientific Advisory Board at the Center for the Study of Hepatitis C, supported by a university consortium consisting of Rockefeller, Weill Cornell Medical College, and New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
[3] Before beginning his independent research career, Choppin did his internship and residency at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.
He became a full professor and senior physician at Rockefeller in 1970, and served in various administrative roles including the vice president of academic programs and the dean of graduate studies.
[3][4][5] In 1985 Choppin moved from his position as the Leon Hess Professor of Virology at Rockefeller to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, where he served as vice president and chief scientific officer.