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Philip Levine (August 10, 1900 – October 18, 1987) was an immuno-hematologist whose clinical research advanced knowledge on the Rhesus factor,
Hemolytic disease of the newborn Hemolytic disease of the newborn, also known as hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn, HDN, HDFN, or erythroblastosis foetalis, is an alloimmune condition that develops in a fetus at or around birth, when the IgG molecules (one of the five ...
(HDN) and
blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but mo ...
.


Life and career

Levine was born in
Kletsk Kletsk ( be, Клецк, Klieck, originally known as ''Klechesk'', russian: Клецк, pl, Kleck, ) is a city in the Minsk Region of Belarus, located on the Lan River. In 2015 it had 11,237 inhabitants. History The town was founded in the ...
, near
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
(now in
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
), then in the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. He moved with his family to New York when he was 8 years old where his family took on a more English sounding surname. The family settled in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
where Levine graduated from Boys' High School. He received a bachelor's degree at City College and a master's degree and, in 1923, an M.D. degree 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 tea ...
Medical School. About 1925, Levine became assistant to
Karl Landsteiner Karl Landsteiner (; 14 June 1868 – 26 June 1943) was an Austrian-born American biologist, physician, and immunologist. He distinguished the main blood groups in 1900, having developed the modern system of classification of blood groups from ...
at the Rockefeller Institute,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. In 1932, he took up research work on the bacteriophage at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
. Back in the east in 1935, he worked as a bacteriologist and serologist at Newark Beth Israel Hospital,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
where, in 1939, Levine and Rufus E. Stetson published their findings about a family who had a
stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The ter ...
baby in 1937 who had died of
hemolytic disease of the newborn Hemolytic disease of the newborn, also known as hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn, HDN, HDFN, or erythroblastosis foetalis, is an alloimmune condition that develops in a fetus at or around birth, when the IgG molecules (one of the five ...
. This publication included the first suggestion that a mother could make
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 ...
antibodies owing to immune sensitization to her fetus's
red blood cell Red blood cells (RBCs), also referred to as red cells, red blood corpuscles (in humans or other animals not having nucleus in red blood cells), haematids, erythroid cells or erythrocytes (from Greek ''erythros'' for "red" and ''kytos'' for "holl ...
s.
In 1944, Levine started a centre for blood group research at the Ortho Research Foundation,
Raritan, New Jersey Raritan is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 6,881,Albert Lasker Award for clinical research awarded to Levine jointly with
Karl Landsteiner Karl Landsteiner (; 14 June 1868 – 26 June 1943) was an Austrian-born American biologist, physician, and immunologist. He distinguished the main blood groups in 1900, having developed the modern system of classification of blood groups from ...
and Alexander Wiener for their work on the Rhesus factor, HDN and
blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but mo ...
* 1951:
Passano Foundation The Passano Foundation, established in 1945, provides an annual award to a research scientist whose work – done in the United States – is thought to have immediate practical benefits. Many Passano laureates have subsequently won the Nobel Priz ...
Award * 1956: AABB Karl Landsteiner Award * 1956:
Townsend Harris Townsend Harris (October 4, 1804 – February 25, 1878) was an American merchant and politician who served as the first United States Consul General to Japan. He negotiated the " Harris Treaty" between the US and Japan and is credited as the d ...
Medal, Alumni Association of New York City College * 1959: Award of Merit of the Netherlands Red Cross * 1960: Johnson Medal for research and development in immunohematology * 1961: Life membership in the Harvey Society * 1964:First Franz Oehlecker Award from German Society for Blood Transfusion * 1965: Medal from German Red Cross * 1966: Elected to the National Academy of Sciences * 1966:
Clemens von Pirquet Clemens Peter Freiherr von Pirquet (12 May 187428 February 1929) was an Austrian scientist and pediatrician best known for his contributions to the fields of bacteriology and immunology. Career Born in Vienna, he studied theology at the Universit ...
Gold Medal from the 7th Forum on Allergy * 1967: Honorary Doctor of Science from Michigan State University * 1978: Honorary member of the
International Society of Blood Transfusion The International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) is a scientific society founded in 1935, which promotes the study of blood transfusion and spreads reliable information about the ways in which blood transfusion medicine and science can bes ...
* 1978: Honorary life member of the
New York Academy of Sciences The New York Academy of Sciences (originally the Lyceum of Natural History) was founded in January 1817 as the Lyceum of Natural History. It is the fourth oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization wi ...
* 1980: Karl Landsteiner Gold Medal of Netherlands Red Cross * 1983: Honorary Doctor of Science,
University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...


Legacy

In 1969, the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) started an award for clinical research and named it the ''Philip Levine Award'' after LevineList of recipient
on PDF here


See also

* History of medical advances in Rh disease


References


Further reading

* Eloise R. Giblett: ''Philip Levine (1900-1987), A Biographical Memoir'', National Academy of Sciences, Washington D.C. 199
PDF
* Levine P. and Stetson R. E: Intra-group agglutination. J Am Med Assoc, 113: 126,1939


External links





* Levine's obituary in th

* Detailed coverage of Levine's research on the Rh facto
here
at Lasker Foundation website
National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levine, Philip American hematologists 1900 births 1987 deaths Weill Cornell Medical College alumni Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences City College of New York alumni American bacteriologists 20th-century American scientists Recipients of the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award