Elvin Abraham Kabat (September 1, 1914 – June 16, 2000) was an American biomedical scientist and one of the founding fathers of modern

quantitative Quantitative may refer to: * Quantitative research, scientific investigation of quantitative properties * Quantitative analysis (disambiguation) * Quantitative verse, a metrical system in poetry * Statistics, also known as quantitative analysis ...

immunochemistry Immunochemistry is the study of the chemistry of the immune system. This involves the study of the properties, functions, interactions and production of the chemical components (antibodies/immunoglobulins, toxin, epitopes of proteins like CD4, a ...

. Kabat was awarded the

Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize The Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize for Biology or Biochemistry is an annual prize awarded by Columbia University to a researcher or group of researchers who have made an outstanding contribution in basic research in the fields of biology or biochemist ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1977 and the

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...

in 1991. He is the father of

Jon Kabat-Zinn Jon Kabat-Zinn (born Jon Kabat, June 5, 1944) is an American professor emeritus of medicine and the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medi ...

. Elvin A. Kabat was the president of the

American Association of Immunologists The American Association of Immunologists (AAI) is an international scientific society dedicated to furthering the study of immunology. AAI provides its members with a variety of platforms in which to exchange ideas and present the latest immunolo ...

from 1965 to 1966, a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, 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 Nati ...

and a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

. He laid the foundations of the Kabat numbering scheme, a scheme for the numbering of

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...

residues in

antibodies An antibody (Ab), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique molecule of the ...

based upon variable regions. In 1969, he started collecting and aligning amino acid sequences of human and mouse

Bence Jones protein Bence Jones protein is a monoclonal globulin protein or immunoglobulin light chain found in the urine, with a molecular weight of 22–24 kDa. Detection of Bence Jones protein may be suggestive of multiple myeloma or Waldenström's macroglobuli ...

s and immunoglobulin light chains in 1969. In 1995 he was awarded the

American Association of Immunologists Lifetime Achievement Award The American Association of Immunologists Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed by the American Association of Immunologists (AAI). It has been awarded annually to a single AAI member since 1994. Winners Source: See also * Li ...

Work

Kabat was instrumental in the discovery of the structural and genetic basis for the remarkable specificity of

. Kabat first demonstrated that antibodies are

gamma globulin Gamma globulins are a class of globulins, identified by their position after serum protein electrophoresis. The most significant gamma globulins are immunoglobulins ( antibodies), although some immunoglobulins are not gamma globulins, and some ga ...

s. He characterized the size and stunning

heterogeneity Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts often used in the sciences and statistics relating to the uniformity of a substance or organism. A material or image that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character (i.e. color, shape, siz ...

of antibody-combining sites. Kabat and his coworkers determined the structures of the major

blood group A blood type (also known as a blood group) is a classification of blood, based on the presence and absence of antibodies and inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrates ...

antigen In immunology, an antigen (Ag) is a molecule or molecular structure or any foreign particulate matter or a pollen grain that can bind to a specific antibody or T-cell receptor. The presence of antigens in the body may trigger an immune response. ...

s, the embryonic-stage-specific

carbohydrate In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ma ...

antigens and the carbohydrate markers of

leukocyte White blood cells, also called leukocytes or leucocytes, are the cells of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign invaders. All white blood cells are produced and derived from mult ...

(white blood cell). Some of his published work include: *

Life

Kabat's parents arrived in the United States from Eastern Europe toward the end of the 19th century. (The family changed their last name from Kabatchnick to Kabat.) Elvin began high school in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

at the age of 12 and completed it in three years. He started at

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 ...

at the age of 15 and graduated in 1932 with a major in

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

at age 18. In January 1933, Kabat was already working in

Michael Heidelberger Michael Heidelberger (April 29, 1888 – June 25, 1991) was an American immunologist, often regarded as the father of modern immunology. He and Oswald Avery showed that the polysaccharides of pneumococcus are antigens, enabling him to show tha ...

’s laboratory doing routine lab chores at

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) is the graduate medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Founded i ...

. Kabat started work on his Ph.D. in the Department of Biochemistry, taking most courses at night, and completed his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

under Heidelberger in only four years. Kabat did postdoctoral work with

Arne Tiselius Arne Wilhelm Kaurin Tiselius (10 August 1902 – 29 October 1971) was a Swedish biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1948 "for his research on electrophoresis and adsorption analysis, especially for his discoveries concerning t ...

and Kai Pederson in

Uppsala, Sweden Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

, to learn the new methods of ultracentrifugation and

electrophoresis Electrophoresis, from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, "amber") and φόρησις (phórēsis, "the act of bearing"), is the motion of dispersed particles relative to a fluid under the influence of a spatially uniform electric fie ...

. He returned to New York City to take up a position as an instructor of pathology at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

Medical College, served for three years before moving uptown and spent the main part of his career at

Personal life

In 1942, Kabat married Sally Lennick, a young Canadian art student. They had three children, one of whom is the American

mindfulness Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present-moment experience without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training. Mindfulness derives from ''sati'', a significant element of Hind ...

teacher and developer of

mindfulness-based stress reduction Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an eight-week evidence-based program that offers secular, intensive mindfulness training to assist people with stress, anxiety, depression and pain. Developed at the University of Massachusetts Medica ...

(MBSR)

References

External links

Elvin A. Kabat: September 1, 1914–June 16, 2000
an excellent Biographical Memoir, written by Rose G. Mage and Ten Feizi, published by the U.S.

Elvin A. Kabat Memorial Symposium
with

reprinted from the journal ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

''
In Memoriam Elvin Abraham Kabat
reprinted from the ''Journal of Immunology''

obituary in the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' (he summered at

Woods Hole Woods Hole is a census-designated place in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies at the extreme southwest corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. The population was 781 at ...

for about 50 years)
An Appreciation of Elvin A. Kabat
reprinted from ''Glycoconjugate Journal''

]
Elvin Kabat Wins National Medal of Science, NIH Record, October 15, 1991
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kabat, Elvin A. 1914 births 2000 deaths American immunologists American biochemists National Medal of Science laureates Columbia University alumni Weill Medical College of Cornell University faculty Columbia University faculty Jewish American scientists 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American physicians