Gregory Antone Prince (born 1948) is an American

pathology Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

researcher, businessman, author,

social critic Social criticism is a form of academic or journalistic criticism focusing on social issues in contemporary society, in respect to perceived injustices and power relations in general. Social criticism of the Enlightenment The origin of modern ...

, and historian of the Latter Day Saint movement.

Biography

Prince was born and raised in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. After graduating as valedictorian from Dixie College (

St. George, Utah St. George or Saint George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The cit ...

), he served a two-year

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) at age 19. Upon returning to the United States in 1969, Prince attended

graduate school Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, receiving a D.D.S. (valedictorian) in 1973 and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1975. In 1975 he and his wife, JaLynn Rasmussen, moved to

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, for a post-doctoral fellowship at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

. After spending more than a decade at NIH and

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, he co-founded Virion Systems, Inc. (VSI), a biotechnology company focused on the prevention and treatment of pediatric infectious diseases. Building on discoveries that Prince made as a doctoral student, VSI pioneered the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease in high-risk infants through the use of monoclonal antibody. (RSV is the primary cause of infant pneumonia throughout the world.) VSI's technologies were licensed to MedImmune, Inc., and the collaborative efforts of the two companies and other partners resulted in the approval by the

U.S. Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

of Synagis, a drug that is currently given to approximately a quarter-million high-risk infants throughout the world each year. In 2020, Prince became CEO of Soft Cell Biological Research, Inc. and its subsidiary company, Soft Cell Labs, Inc. Both labs focus on the role of L-form bacteria (bacteria that shed their cell walls and thus become capable of evading the immune system) in chronic human diseases. In 2008, Prince and his wife established the Madison House Autism Foundation, named after their youngest son who is autistic, for the purpose of addressing the perplexing issues facing adults with autism, along with those facing family members, caregivers and society at large. Prince serves on the boards of several non-profit institutions including the National Advisory Council,

Utah Tech University Utah Tech University (UT), formerly named Dixie State University (DSU), is a polytechnic four-year public university in St. George, Utah, in southwest Utah (also known by the longtime nickname of " Utah's Dixie" region). UT offers doctoral degre ...

; the Dean's Advisory Council, University of Utah School of Dentistry; and the Board of Governors,

Wesley Theological Seminary Wesley Theological Seminary is a United Methodist Church seminary in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1882. History Wesley Theological Seminary can trace its roots back to the 1881 meeting of the Methodist Protestant Church's Maryland Ann ...

. In the 2010s, Prince began to call for a better understanding, within the views common among

Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

, of certain causal relationships between

biology and sexual orientation The relationship between biology and sexual orientation is a subject of ongoing research. While scientists do not know the exact cause of sexual orientation, they theorize that it is caused by a complex interplay of Genetics, genetic, hormonal, a ...

. In recognition of his lifetime achievements, Prince was inducted into the Dixie State College Hall of Fame in 1999, and in 2012 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities by the same institution. In 2013 he was named Alumnus of the Year of the

UCLA School of Dentistry The UCLA School of Dentistry is the dental school of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in the Center for Health Sciences building in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. The school has seve ...

, and in 2017 he was given the Distinguished Service Award by

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

. Prince was one of several leading figures in

Mormon studies Mormon studies is the interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary list of academic disciplines, academic study of the beliefs and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, beliefs, practices, Latter Day Saint movement#History, histor ...

interviewed for the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

documentary The Mormons. He lives with his family in

Potomac, Maryland Potomac () is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 47,018. It is named a ...

Publications

Prince is the author of over 150 scientific publications in the field of infectious diseases, the majority dealing with RSV. He has also published several articles on religious history and theology, as well as five books in the same field: ''Having Authority: The Origins and Development of Priesthood During the Ministry of Joseph Smith'' (1993); ''Power from On High: The Development of Mormon Priesthood'' (1995); '' David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism'' (2005), co-authored with

William Robert Wright William Robert Wright (May 20, 1935 – January 13, 2012) was an American attorney, political candidate, and author. Early life and education Wright was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Ralph Bassett Wright and Afton Middlemiss Wright. He grad ...

; ''Leonard Arrington and the Writing of Mormon History'' (2016); and '' Gay Rights and the Mormon Church: Intended Actions, Unintended Consequences'' (2019). The McKay book was the recipient of four prestigious awards, and the Arrington book received the Evans Biography Award. In 2023, he was given the Leonard J. Arrington Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Mormon History Association, the highest award given by that organization.

Scientific journals

The following is a partial list of published scientific articles in which Prince was a lead author: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mormon studies

The following is a list of Prince's books and articles relating to Mormonism. * * * * * * * * * * Coauthored with Wm. Robert Wright. * * * *

Notes

External links

The Gregory A. Prince Papers
at the

J. Willard Marriott Library The J. Willard Marriott Library is the main academic library of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. The university library has had multiple homes since the first University of Utah librarian was appointed in 1850. The current building ...

Special Collections,

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

Interview with Prince
on the ''

Mormon Stories ''Mormon Stories Podcast'' is a podcast principally hosted by psychologist John Dehlin featuring interviews with individuals and occasionally scholars on Mormon topics. The podcasts are noted as a platform for individuals critical of the Church ...

'' podcast
Article on Prince's wife winning the 1999 National Mother of Young Children by American Mothers Inc.

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20100405074442/http://mormonmatters.org/2010/03/25/greg-prince-at-usu-today-audio/ Prince's March 2010 presentations at Utah State University about David O. McKay
Prince's biography from Dixie State College's 1999 Science and Technology Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince, Gregory 1948 births 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Latter Day Saint writers American Mormon missionaries in Brazil American pathologists American technology chief executives Utah Tech University alumni Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement Johns Hopkins University people Latter Day Saints from California Latter Day Saints from Maryland Living people People from Potomac, Maryland UCLA School of Dentistry alumni Writers from Los Angeles