Michael Potter (February 27, 1924 – June 18, 2013) was an American physician and immunologist. He won the

Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize The Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize is an annual award bestowed by the since 1952 for research in medicine. It carries a monetary prize of 120,000 Euro. The prize ceremony is traditionally held on the 14th of March, the birthday of Nob ...

for outstanding contributions to medical research in 1983, and the

Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research The Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research is one of the Lasker Award, prizes awarded by the Lasker Foundation for a fundamental discovery that opens up a new area of biomedical science. The award frequently precedes a Nobel Prize in Phys ...

in 1984, for "his fundamental research in the genetics of immunoglobulin molecules and for paving the way for the development of hybridomas and monoclonal antibodies". Potter was born February 27, 1924, in

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 69,612, an increase of 5,342 (+8.3%) from the 2010 United States ...

to Thomas Potter, a lawyer, and Mavis Potter. He did not enter school until the 4th grade. Potter was elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 1981. Potter attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

for his undergraduates study, graduating in 1945. He received his medical degree from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

in 1949. He did his residency at UVA, and was drafted into the war as an army officer in 1951. In 1954, he joined the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

, where he became an expert in

plasma cell Plasma cells, also called plasma B cells or effector B cells, are white blood cells that originate in the lymphoid organs as B cells and secrete large quantities of proteins called antibodies in response to being presented specific substances ca ...

cancers, and was involved in the early characterization of the structure and function of antibodies. He worked at NCI for nearly sixty years, serving as a section chief in the Laboratory of Cell Biology, as a branch chief in the Laboratory of Genetics from 1982 to 2003, and as a senior investigator from 2003 until his retirement. Potter met his wife Jeanne Ann Phalen, a nursing student at the University of Virginia. They had two children; Michael and Melissa.

References

1924 births 2013 deaths American immunologists Princeton University alumni University of Virginia School of Medicine alumni Deaths from leukemia in Maryland {{US-scientist-stub