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Michael Heidelberger
Biologist

Michael Heidelberger

Famoose for

Establishing a chemical basis for understanding antibodies.

Antibody chemistry · Pneumococcal antigens

Born
29 April 1888
Birthplace
New York City
Died
25 June 1991

More people

Florence NightingaleHelping establish modern professional nursing.Alexander FlemingDiscovering penicillin’s antibacterial effect.Edward JennerDeveloping smallpox vaccination using material from cowpox.

Michael Heidelberger

Michael Heidelberger was an American immunologist whose research with Oswald Avery linked pneumococcal polysaccharides to immune responses.

Early life

Chemistry

Grew up in New York and completed a doctorate in organic chemistry at Columbia in 1911.

Career

  1. 1953

    Lasker Award

    Received recognition for basic medical research.

  2. 1954

    Rutgers

    Moved to its Institute of Microbiology after retiring from Columbia.

  3. 1964

    NYU

    Continued his research at New York University.

  4. 1967

    National Medal of Science

    Received the US scientific honour.

Contributions

Antibody chemistry

Helped demonstrate that antibodies are proteins.

Pneumococcal antigens

Studied the chemical structures behind immune specificity.

Beyond work

Music

Played clarinet throughout his life and joined chamber-music performances with friends and colleagues.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical references ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: photograph by Harold Low, "Gift. Dr. Heidelberger.". Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.