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Event |
People |
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Ehrlich played a significant role in the development of the first serum therapy to combat diphtheria in the 1890s and devised methods for standardising therapeutic serums. In addition he invented staining techniques for distinguishing different types of blood cells which laid the foundation for diagnosing blood disorders. In 1900 he popularised the 'magic bullet' concept which promoted the idea of developing a drug capable of killing specific disease-causing microbes, like bacteria, without harming the body itself. Nine years later he succeeded in creating Salvasan, the first drug created to target a specific pathogen and the first effective medical treatment for syphilis. Ehrlich also coined the term 'antibody' and transformed understandings of how the immune system worked. In 1908 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine on the back of this work. Despite his groundbreaking research, Ehrlich struggled to get a permanent position because of his Jewish background. 1854-03-14T00:00:00+0000| 14 Mar 1854 | | Paul Ehrlich was born in Strehlen (now Strzelin), Prussia (now Poland)Ehrlich | Strehlen, Prussia | Immunology, Bacteriology, Antibodies |
Behring was a military physician who made many important contributions to the understanding of immunity. In 1890 he discovered a diphtheria toxin. This laid the basis for the development of the first drug against diphtheria. Behring went on to develop a serum therapy against tetanus. His work laid the foundation for the development of many other serum therapies, which by the 1930s had become a standard treatment for many infectious diseases. He shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1901 for the development of serum therapies.1854-03-15T00:00:00+0000| 15 Mar 1854 | | Emil Adolf von Behring was born in Hansdorf, Prussia (now Poland)von Behring | Hansdorf, Prussia (now Poland) | Antibodies |
Fibiger published the first randomisation method for a clinical trial. The aim of the trial, conducted in 1898, was to investigate the effect of serum therapy on diphtheria. Fibiger would later go on to win the 1926 Nobel Prize for Medicine for demonstrating a roundworm could cause stomach cancer in rats and mice. Following his death researchers showed that the roundworm could not cause cancer and were due to vitamin deficiency and that Fibiger had mistakenly confused non-cancerous tumours for cancerous tumours in his experiments. 1867-04-23T00:00:00+0000| 23 Apr 1867 | | Johannes A G Fibiger was born in Silkeborg, DenmarkFibiger | Silkeborg, Denmark | Antibodies, Oncology, Clinical trial |
Wollstein was a pioneer paediatric pathologist at a time when women rarely worked in the field of pathology. One of her key contributions was the development of antiserum therapies to treat both paediatric and adult infectious diseases, including a potent polyvalent antiserum to treat meningitis. She was the first woman to ever be elected a member of the American Pediatric Society. In 1904 she joined the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research where she did important experimental work on polio, pneumonia and other diseases. Her work was important for showing that mumps could be viral in nature. 1868-11-21T00:00:00+0000| 21 Nov 1868 | | Martha Wollstein was born in New York City, USAWollstein | Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research | Antibodies, Infectious diseases |
Bordet was a physician, immunologist and microbiologist who won the 1919 Nobel Prize for his discovery of two components in the blood - antibodies and complement proteins. The two components help destroy invading bacteria by rupturing the cell walls of the bacteria, a process known as bacteriolysis. Bordet made the discovery in 1895. Three years later Bordet observed that red blood cells from one animal species injected into another get destroyed by haemolysis - a process analogous to bacteriolysis. His finding led to the development of diagnostic tests that hunt for antibodies in the blood to detect infectious agents. The first one was for typhoid, developed in 1896.1870-06-13T00:00:00+0000| 13 Jun 1870 | | Jules Bordet was born in Soignies, BelgiumBordet | Pasteur Institute | Antibodies, Immunology, Diagnostics |
Heidelberger was one of the founders of immunochemistry, a branch of biochemistry that investigates the mammalian immune system at the molecular level. He first made his mark in 1923 when he found, with Oswald Avery, that the immune system could target bacterial sugars. The two scientists made the discovery while investigating a capsular substance that envelops pneumococcus and other species of bacteria. Their work helped determine that antibodies were proteins. It also paved the way to improving the production of more effective serum therapies for the prevention of bacterial infectious diseases like pneumonia and meningitis. 1888-04-29T00:00:00+0000| 29 Apr 1888 | | Michael Heidelberger was born in New York City, USAHeidelberger | Rockefeller Institute, Columbia University | Antibodies, Immunology |
Jules Bordet, a Belgian immunologist and microbiologist, on the basis of experiments heating fresh serum containing antibacterial antibodies, detects the presence of a substance, initially called alexin or complement which appears to act as an accessory to antibodies, taking on the role of destroying antigens.1895-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1895 | | Complement detected to be an accessory to antibodiesBordet | Pasteur Institute | Antibodies |
Antiserum preparted against human oesteogenic sarcoma in an ass and 2 dogs. Reported successful in treating 50 patients suffering from cancer of the stomach and chest wall. J Hericourt, C Richet, 'Traitement d'un cas de sarcome par la sarcome par la serotherapie', Seances Acad Sci, 120 (1895), 948-50.1895-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1895 | | Humans treated with antiserum prepared against human cancer. This established the principle of using serotherapy to fight cancerHericourt, Richet | College de France | Immunology, Cancer immunotherapy, Oncology, Monoclonal antibodies |
Paul Ehrlich, a German scientist, proposes that all cells possess a wide variety of special receptors, or side chains, that function like gatekeepers or locks for each cell. This known as Ehrlich's side chain theory.1897-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1897 | | Antibody formation theoryEhrlich | | Antibodies |
A virologist and physician, Burnet is best known for his discovery of acquired immunological tolerance and demonstrating how the body recognises the difference between self and non-self. Burnet shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1960 for this work. His research helped advance the development of vaccines, tissue transplantation, monoclonal antibodies and associated therapies. In addition, Burnett made significant contributions to the development of techniques to grow and study the influenza virus, including hemagglutination assays. Based on his study of the genetics of the virus he showed that the influenza virus recombined at a high frequency. 1899-09-03T00:00:00+0000| 3 Sep 1899 | | Frank Macfarlane Burnet born in Traralgon, Victoria, Australia
Burnet | Walter and Eliza Hall Institute | Immunology, Monoclonal antibodies, Transplantation |
Karl Landsteiner, Austrian scientist, observes a clumping effect when the blood of two people are mixed. On the basis of this he identifies three human blood groups A, B and O, which he labels as C. He also notes that blood transfusion between persons with the same blood group does not result in the destruction of blood cells, but occurs between persons of different blood groups.1900-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1900 - 1901 | | Blood grouping observedLandsteiner | University of Vienna | Antibodies, Transfusion, Cell therapy |
Karl Landsteiner, devises a test for A, B and O blood groupings using antibodies.1901-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1901 | | Blood groupings diagnostic developedLandsteiner | University of Vienna | Antibodies |
Chase was an immunologist who in the early 1940s discovered that white blood cells trigger the immune response in the body confronting a foreign invader. His finding laid to rest the belief that antibodies by themselves could protect the body from allergies and pathogens. Chase also uncovered the second arm of the immune system, known as cell-mediated immunity, paving the way to the discovery of lymphocyte cells and B and T cells.1905-09-17T00:00:00+0000| 17 Sep 1905 | | Merrill W Chase born in Providence, RI, USAChase | Rockefeller University | Antibodies, Immunology |
Reuben Ottenberg carries out the first successful blood transfusion using blood typing and cross-matching based on the use of antisera. 1907-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1907 | | First successful blood transfusion using blood typingOttenberg | Mount Sinai Hospital | Antibodies |
Paul Ehrlich, German scientist, suggests that one day it will be possible to use antibodies as compounds to target disease.1909-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1909 | | Antibodies put forward as potential 'magic bullets' for medicineEhrlich | Royal Institute of Experimental Therapy | Antibodies |
Jerne shared the 1984 Nobel Prize for Medicine for 'theories concerning the specificity in development and control of the immune system'. He developed three important theories for immunology. Firstly, that antibodies are formed during fetal development and are present in the body from birth. Secondly, that white blood cells, lymphocytes, teach themselves to recognise the body's own substances in the thymus gland. Thirdly, he proposed the network theory which depicts the immune system as a complex self-regulating network that can turn itself on and off when needed. Jerne's work paved the way to development of monoclonal antibodies. He was the founder and director of the Basel Institute of Immunology.1911-12-23T00:00:00+0000| 23 Dec 1911 | | Niels K Jerne was born in London, United KingdomJerne | Basel Institute for Immunology | Immunology, Monoclonal antibodies |
Ehrlich played a significant role in the development of the first serum therapy to combat diphtheria in the 1890s and devised methods for standardising therapeutic serums. In addition he invented staining techniques for distinguishing different types of blood cells which laid the foundation for diagnosing blood disorders. In 1900 he popularised the 'magic bullet' concept which promoted the idea of developing a drug capable of killing specific disease-causing microbes, like bacteria, without harming the body itself. Nine years later he succeeded in creating Salvasan, the first drug created to target a specific pathogen and the first effective medical treatment for syphilis. Ehrlich also coined the term 'antibody' and transformed understandings of how the immune system worked. In 1908 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine on the back of this work. Despite his groundbreaking research, Ehrlich struggled to get a permanent position because of his Jewish background.1915-08-20T00:00:00+0000| 20 Aug 1915 | | Paul Ehrlich diedEhrlich | Goettingen University | Antibodies, Immunology, Bacteriology |
A virologist, Koprowski invented the world's first effective live polio vaccine while at Lederle Laboratories. He developed the vaccine by attenuating the virus in brain cells of a cotton rat. In January 1948 he injected the vaccine into himself. The vaccine had the advantage that it directly entered the intestinal tract and provided long-lasting immunity. Within a decade the vaccine had been adopted on four continents. Koprowski went on to become the director of the Wistar Institute where in the 1960s he led efforts to improve the rabies vaccine. He subsequently became the first scientist, together with colleagues, to hold a patent for monoclonal antibodies. Born to Jewish parents, Koprowski was forced to flee Poland in 1939 after Germany invaded the country. 1916-12-05T00:00:00+0000| 5 Dec 1916 | | Hilary Koprowski was born in Warsaw, PolandKoprowski | Lederle Laboratories, Wistar Institute | Vaccines, Monoclonal antibodies, Infectious diseases |
Karl Landsteiner, Austrian-born American biologist and physician, shows the body capable of producing antibodies against synthetic antigens never encountered before.1917-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1917 | | Antibodies shown to form against synthetic antigens (foreign substances)Landsteiner | Wilhelminenspital | Antibodies |
Behring was a military physician who made many important contributions to the understanding of immunity. In 1890 he discovered a diphtheria toxin. This laid the basis for the development of the first drug against diphtheria. Behring went on to develop a serum therapy against tetanus. His work laid the foundation for the development of many other serum therapies, which by the 1930s had become a standard treatment for many infectious diseases. He shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1901 for the development of serum therapies.1917-03-31T00:00:00+0000| 31 Mar 1917 | | Emil Adolf von Behring diedvon Behring | | Antibodies |
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