Dr. Manfred E. Bayer (22 September 1928 – 27 February 2015) was a medical doctor and a microscopist, best known for his research in bacterial and viral infrastructure using electron microscopy. He was the first person to visualize
yellow fever virus in cultured cells and to obtain ultra-thin sections of the cell wall of ''
E. coli
''Escherichia coli'' ( )Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escherichia'' that is commonly foun ...
'' by
penicillin
Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of beta-lactam antibiotic, β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' Mold (fungus), moulds, principally ''Penicillium chrysogenum, P. chrysogenum'' and ''Penicillium rubens, P. ru ...
.
Early life
Bayer was born in
Görlitz
Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...
,
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
. He joined the
University of Kiel
Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...
, Germany for higher studies in biology and obtained his degree in 1949. He studied medicine at the
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...
, Germany. He completed his clinical training in 1953. He enrolled for physics in the same university and got a degree in 1959. His research on pathology enabled him to become the Research Associate at the University of Hamburg. He also did his diploma in
tropical medicine
Tropical medicine is an interdisciplinary branch of medicine that deals with health issues that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or are more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions.
Physicians in this field diagnose and tr ...
and
parasitology
Parasitology is the study of parasites, their host (biology), hosts, and the relationship between them. As a List of biology disciplines, biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in questio ...
at the
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...
.
Career and research
Bayer served as the Assistant member of the Institute of Tropical diseases and Parasitology. Later, he joined the Institute for Cancer Research (now
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Fox Chase Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center research facility and hospital located in the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The main facilities of the center are l ...
in Philadelphia) as a research associate. He was also the Professor of Microbiology at the
University of Pennsylvania Medical School
The Perelman School of Medicine (commonly known as Penn Med) is the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private, Ivy League research university located in Philadelphia. Founded in 1765, the Perelman School of Medicine is the olde ...
from 1971 to 2000. He was an honorary visiting professor at
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...
,
Halifax.
He died on February 27, 2015, at his home in Crozet, Virginia.
Beyer is known for his research on use of water-soluble embedding resins in
electron microscopy
An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing i ...
. The use of resins will solidify samples so that thin sections could be obtained for electron micrography. He is also credited with the discovery of the structural units of
hepatitis virus.
This discovery was crucial for the invention of vaccine against
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...
.
Awards
Dr. Bayer has won the Japanese Society for the Promotion in Science award. He was an editorial member in the ''Journal of Bacteriology''. He was given a research grant by Lyme Disease Association Inc. for his research on ''Effects of Low Frequency Magnetic Fields on Borrelia burgdorferi.''
See also
List of German scientists
References
External links
Fox Chase Cancer Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayer, Manfred
1928 births
Emigrants from West Germany to the United States
University of Pennsylvania faculty
American microbiologists
German microbiologists
People from Görlitz
University of Kiel alumni
University of Hamburg alumni
Academic staff of the University of Hamburg
People from the Province of Lower Silesia
2015 deaths
Lyme disease researchers
Fellows of the American Physical Society