Felix Milgrom (12 October 1919 – 2 September 2007) was a

Polish American Polish Americans () are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of the U.S. population, ...

immunologist who was

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the

University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, also known as Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, is a public medical school in the city of Buffalo, New York, at the University at Buffalo. Founded in 1846, it is o ...

. He is best known for the development of a simple test for

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...

that could be performed on a drop of dried blood.

Biography

Milgrom was born in

Rohatyn Rohatyn (, ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city located on the Hnyla Lypa River in Ivano-Frankivsk Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, in western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Rohatyn urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Popula ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in 1919. Initially a student at the University of Lwow, he earned a

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

from the

Wrocław Medical University Wrocław Medical University ( Polish: ''Uniwersytet Medyczny we Wrocławiu'', Latin: ''Universitas Medicus Vratislaviensis'') is an institution of higher medical education in Wrocław, Poland. It consists of six faculties: Medicine, Medicine an ...

in 1946, becoming a

docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

in 1951. He taught at the

and led the microbiology department at the

Medical University of Silesia The Medical University of Silesia ( Polish: Śląski Uniwersytet Medyczny) is a university located in Katowice, Poland. The university has 10,218 students and a teaching staff of 1201, including 295 professors. There are five faculties: Medi ...

. He joined the Department of Microbiology at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 1958. He was the chairman of the Department of Microbiology at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences from 1967 to 1985. Milgrom was named a SUNY Distinguished Professor in 1981. Together with Ernest Witebsky and others, Milgram established what is now known as the Witebsky Center for Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology. Milgrom authored 400 articles and other publications, including several books. The president of Collegium Internationale Allergologicum from 1978 to 1982, Milgrom was a member of the

Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning (, PAU), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of sciences (the other being the Po ...

American Society for Microbiology The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It wa ...

, and

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is an international non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a faculty member and graduate students in 1886 and is one of the oldest ...

. He received honorary degrees from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, the

University of Lund Lund University () is a public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially founded in 1666 on the ...

, the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

, the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

, and the

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) was a state-run health sciences institution with six locations in New Jersey. It was founded as the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry in 1954, and by the 1980s was both a ...

. He has been awarded the Cross of Merit, a Polish

state decoration A state decoration is an object, such as a medal or the insignia of an Order (distinction), order, that is awarded by a sovereign state to honor the recipient. The term includes civil awards and decorations, as well as military awards and decorat ...

. Milgrom is a recipient of the Alfred Jurzykowski Foundation Prize (1986) and the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize (1987).

Personal life

He married Halina Miszel, a noted physician, on October 15, 1941. They have two children, Henry and Martin Louis. Henry Milgrom is a Professor of Pediatrics at the

University of Colorado Denver The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a Public university, public research university located in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. Established in 1912 as an extension of the University of C ...

Bibliography

Felix Milgrom, Pioneering Immunologist, UB Faculty Member, Dies at 87
University of Buffalo official statement * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Milgrom, Felix 1919 births 2007 deaths Polish immunologists University at Buffalo faculty Polish emigrants to the United States