Felix Milgrom (12 October 1919 – 2 September 2007) was a

Polish American Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83 ...

immunologist who was State University of New York

Distinguished Professor Distinguished Professor is an academic title given to some top tenured professors in a university, school, or department. Some distinguished professors may have endowed chairs. In the United States Often specific to one institution, titles such ...

Emeritus at the

University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, also known as Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, is a public medical school in the city of Buffalo, New York at the University at Buffalo. Founded in 1846, it is o ...

. He is best known for the development of a simple test for syphilis that could be performed on a drop of dried blood.

Biography

Milgrom was born in

Rohatyn Rohatyn ( uk, Рогатин, pl, Rohatyn) is a city located on the Hnyla Lypa River in Ivano-Frankivsk Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, in western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Rohatyn urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. P ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

in 1919. Initially a student at the

University of Lwow The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...

, he earned a

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

from the

Wrocław Medical University Wrocław Medical University ( Polish: ''Uniwersytet Medyczny we Wrocławiu'', Latin: ''Universitas Medicus Vratislaviensis'') is an institution of higher medical education in Wrocław, Poland. It consists of five faculties: Medicine, Dentistry, P ...

in 1946, becoming a

docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de con ...

in 1951. He taught at the

and led the microbiology department at the Medical University of Silesia. He joined the Department of Microbiology at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 1958. He was the chairman of the Department of Microbiology at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences from 1967 to 1985. Milgrom was named a SUNY Distinguished Professor in 1981. Together with

Ernest Witebsky Ernst Witebsky, also Ernest Witebsky (3 September 1901 in Frankfurt am Main – 7 December 1969) was a German-American immunologist. Early life and education Ernst Witebsky was born in Frankfurt am Main. From 1920 to 1926 Witebsky studied medic ...

and others, Milgram established what is now known as the Witebsky Center for Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology. Milgrom authored 400 articles and other publications, including several books. The president of Collegium Internationale Allergologicum from 1978 to 1982, Milgrom was a member of the

Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning ( pl, Polska Akademia Umiejętności), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of scien ...

American Society for Microbiology The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It wa ...

, and

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

. He received honorary degrees from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

, the

University of Lund , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

, the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...

, and the

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) was a state-run health sciences institution of New Jersey, United States. It was founded as the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry in 1954, and by the 1980s was both a majo ...

. He has been awarded the Cross of Merit, a Polish

state decoration A state decoration is an object, such as a medal or the insignia of an order, that is awarded by a sovereign state to honor the recipient. The term includes: *Civil awards and decorations *Military awards and decorations See also * State order ...

. Milgrom is a recipient of the Alfred Jurzykowski Foundation Prize (1986) and the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize (1987).

Personal life

He married Halina Miszel, a noted physician, on October 15, 1941. They have two children, Henry and Martin Louis. Henry Milgrom is a Professor of Pediatrics at the

University of Colorado Denver The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a public research university in Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. History University of Colorado System Anschutz Medical Campus The University of Colorado creat ...

Bibliography

Felix Milgrom, Pioneering Immunologist, UB Faculty Member, Dies at 87
University of Buffalo official statement * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Milgrom, Felix 1919 births 2007 deaths Polish immunologists University at Buffalo faculty Polish emigrants to the United States