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 investigations in medicine. It carries a prize money of 120,000 Euro. The prize awarding ceremony is traditionally held on March 14, the birthday of N ...

for outstanding contributions to medical research in 1983, and the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research 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 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 in 1981. Potter attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

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 research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

in 1949. He did his residency at UVA, and was drafted into the war as an army officer in 1951.http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/potter-michael.pdf 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 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 Deaths from cancer in Maryland {{US-scientist-stub