Alexandre Mikhailovich Besredka (29 March 1870 – 28 February 1940) was a Ukrainian-French

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

and immunologist born in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

. In 1910 he became a citizen of France. He studied

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

in Odessa (1888–92), afterwards moving to Paris, where he was an assistant to Ilya Ilyich Metchnikov (1845–1916) at the

Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (, ) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines for anthrax and rabies. Th ...

. He obtained his medical degree in 1897 with the thesis ''Abscès sous-phréniques''. In 1903 with

Amédée Borrel Amédée Marie Vincent Borrel (1 August 1867 – 14 September 1936) was a French physician and microbiologist born in Cazouls-lès-Béziers, Hérault. Biography Borrel studied natural sciences and medicine at the University of Montpellier, w ...

(1867–1936),

Félix Mesnil Félix Étienne Pierre Mesnil ( Omonville-la-Petite, La Manche department, 12 December 1868 – 15 February 1938, Paris) was a French zoologist, biologist, botanist, mycologist and algologist. He was a student of Alfred Giard at the École Norm ...

(1868–1938),

Gabriel Bertrand Gabriel Bertrand (born 17 May 1867 in Paris, died 20 June 1962 in Paris) was a French pharmacologist, biochemist and bacteriologist. Bertrand introduced into biochemistry both the term “oxidase” and the concept of trace elements. The laccase ...

(1867–1962), Camille Delezenne (1868–1932) and Auguste-Charles Marie (1864–1935), he co-founded the ''Bulletin de l'Institut Pasteur''. From 1905 to 1914 he was in charge of the laboratory at the Pasteur Institute.Alexandre Mikhailovich Besredka
at

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograp ...

In 1910, he attained the title of professor and for several years worked with Metchnikoff conducting experiments of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...

s. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served as a medical officer at

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

and

Bar-le-Duc Bar-le-Duc (), formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the capital. The department is in Grand Est in northeastern France. The lower, more modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, ...

. From 1919, he focused on studies of

immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity ...

involving intestinal infections. Besredka specialised in research of

immunology Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in ...

, cellular self-defense mechanisms and

phagocytosis Phagocytosis () is the process by which a cell (biology), cell uses its plasma membrane to engulf a large particle (≥ 0.5 μm), giving rise to an internal compartment called the phagosome. It is one type of endocytosis. A cell that performs ph ...

. During his career at the Pasteur Institute, he made contributions in his work involving

antiviral Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Antiviral drugs are a class of antimicrobials ...

therapy, as well as in the development of vaccines against various infectious diseases. He is best known for his research of

anaphylaxis Anaphylaxis (Greek: 'up' + 'guarding') is a serious, potentially fatal allergic reaction and medical emergency that is rapid in onset and requires immediate medical attention regardless of the use of emergency medication on site. It typicall ...

. His name is associated with "Besredka's method", a type of vaccination he proposed for avoiding anaphylactic shock in the usage of serotherapy (sometimes referred to as "Besredka's desensitization"). He was involved in the development of vaccines (plague, cholera, diarrhoea, typhoid, paratyphoid, anthrax), worked on antiviral therapy (introduced the term ‘antivirus’ in 1923). Together with Richard Pfeiffer, he was a pioneer in the study of

endotoxins Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), now more commonly known as endotoxin, is a collective term for components of the outermost membrane of the cell envelope of gram-negative bacteria, such as '' E. coli'' and ''Salmonella'' with a common structural archit ...

and was the first to show that they could be neutralised using antibodies. In 1932, Besredka was admitted as a member of the

German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

, chaired by the Swiss physiologist and chemist

Emil Abderhalden Emil Abderhalden (9 March 1877 – 5 August 1950) was a Swiss biochemist and physiologist. His main findings, though disputed already in the 1910s, were not finally rejected until the late 1990s. Whether his misleading findings were based on fra ...

. He was awarded the Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

Selected writings

* ''Anaphylaxie et antianaphylaxie'' Paris, 1918; – Anaphylaxis and anti-anaphylaxis * ''Histoire d'une idée. L'oeuvre de Metschnikoff'' Paris, 1921.— On the work of Ilya Metchnikoff. * ''De la vaccination par voie buccale contre la dysenterie, la fièvre typhoide et le cholera''. Revue d'hygiène et de médecine préventive, 1927; 49: 445–463. * ''Le chic anaphylactique et le principe de la desensibilisation''. Paris, 1930. * ''Antivirusthérapie'' Paris, Masson, 1930; (translated into German).—Treatise on antivirus therapy.Who Named It
Bibliography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Besredka, Alexandre Physicians from Odesa 1870 births 1940 deaths French immunologists Serologists Naturalized citizens of France Ukrainian emigrants to France Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France