Irving Millman (May 23, 1923 – April 17, 2012) was a noted

virologist Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, their ...

and

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...

. He was a member of the U.S. Army's Eighth Armored Division during the Second World War, earning a Bronze Star. In 1948, Millman earned a bachelor's degree from the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

. He did his graduate work at the University of Kentucky and Northwestern University's School of Medicine.Donald G. McNeil, Jr., April 26, 2012, Irving Millman Dies at 88; Worked to Stop Hepatitis B, ''The New York Times''. Millman's work with

Baruch Blumberg Baruch Samuel Blumberg (July 28, 1925 April 5, 2011), known as Barry Blumberg, was an American physician, geneticist, and co-recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (with Daniel Carleton Gajdusek), for his work on the hepat ...

helped lead to the creation of a test to detect hepatitis B. The test allowed blood banks to identify the hepatitis B virus in the blood of potential donors, thereby preventing the spread of the virus. Later research by the team led to a vaccine that is now commonly given to neonates (newborns). Millman and Blumberg found that the blood of individuals who carried the hepatitis B virus contained particles of the outside coating of the virus. The coating, hepatitis B surface antigen ( HBsAg), is not infectious; however, HBsAG can provoke an immune response. In order to develop a vaccine, Millman and Blumberg developed a method of detaching the coatings from the virus. He was Jewish.

References

1923 births 2012 deaths American virologists American microbiologists Jewish American scientists United States Army personnel of World War II City College of New York alumni University of Kentucky alumni Northwestern University alumni 21st-century American Jews {{US-scientist-stub