Baruj Benacerraf
Encyclopedia
Baruj Benacerraf was a Venezuela
n-born American immunologist, who shared the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
for the "discovery of the major histocompatibility complex
genes which encode cell surface protein molecules important for the immune system's distinction between self and non-self". His colleagues and shared recipients were Jean Dausset
and George Davis Snell
.
, Venezuela
on October 29, 1920 to Sephardic Jewish parents. His father was born in the Moroccan
city of Tetuan and his mother in Algeria
. His brother is well-known philosopher Paul Benacerraf
. Benacerraf moved to Paris
from Venezuela with his family in 1925. After going back to Venezuela, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1940. In 1942 he earned his B.S. at Columbia University School of General Studies
. He then went on to attain the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Virginia, the only school to which he was accepted.
From his autobiography at nobelprize.org,
(1948–50). He performed research in Paris (1950–56), relocated to New York University
(1956–68), moved to the National Institutes of Health
(1968–70), then joined Harvard University
medical school (1970–91) where he became the Fabyan Professor of comparative Pathology, concurrently serving the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
, Boston (1980). He began studies of allergies in 1948, and discovered the Ir (immune response) genes that govern transplant rejection
(1960s). Counting different editions, he is an author of over 300 books and articles
in 1971.
Rous-Whipple Award of the American Association of Pathologists 1985
National Medal of Science
1990
Gold-Headed Cane Award of the American Association for Investigative Pathology 1996
Charles A. Dana Award for pioneering achievements in Health and Education 1996
1981
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Sciences, New York University
1981
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Sciences, Yeshiva University
1982
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Sciences, Columbia University
1985
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Sciences, Adelphi University
1988
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Weizmann Institute of Sciences 1989
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Sciences, Gustav Adolphus University
1992
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Sciences, Harvard University
1992
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Sciences, Université de Bordeaux 1993
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Medicine, University of Vienna
1995
Benacerraf died on August 2, 2011 in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
of pneumonia. His wife, Annette, predeceased him this same year on June 3.
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n-born American immunologist, who shared the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
for the "discovery of the major histocompatibility complex
Major histocompatibility complex
Major histocompatibility complex is a cell surface molecule encoded by a large gene family in all vertebrates. MHC molecules mediate interactions of leukocytes, also called white blood cells , which are immune cells, with other leukocytes or body cells...
genes which encode cell surface protein molecules important for the immune system's distinction between self and non-self". His colleagues and shared recipients were Jean Dausset
Jean Dausset
Jean-Baptiste-Gabriel-Joachim Dausset was a French immunologist born in Toulouse, France. He married Rose Mayoral in 1963, with whom he had two children, Henri and Irène...
and George Davis Snell
George Davis Snell
George Davis Snell was an American mouse geneticist and basic transplant immunologist.-Work:George Snell shared the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Baruj Benacerraf and Jean Dausset for their discoveries concerning "genetically determined structures on the cell surface that...
.
Early life and education
Benacerraf was born in CaracasCaracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
on October 29, 1920 to Sephardic Jewish parents. His father was born in the Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
city of Tetuan and his mother in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. His brother is well-known philosopher Paul Benacerraf
Paul Benacerraf
Paul Joseph Salomon Benacerraf is an American philosopher working in the field of the philosophy of mathematics who has been teaching at Princeton University since he joined the faculty in 1960. He was appointed Stuart Professor of Philosophy in 1974, and recently retired as the James S....
. Benacerraf moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
from Venezuela with his family in 1925. After going back to Venezuela, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1940. In 1942 he earned his B.S. at Columbia University School of General Studies
Columbia University School of General Studies
The School of General Studies, commonly known as General Studies or simply GS, is one of the three official undergraduate colleges at Columbia University. It is a highly selective Ivy League undergraduate liberal arts college designed for non-traditional students and confers Bachelor of Art and...
. He then went on to attain the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Virginia, the only school to which he was accepted.
From his autobiography at nobelprize.org,
- "By that time, I had elected to study biology and medicine, instead of going into the family business, as my father would have wanted. I did not realize, however, that admission to Medical School was a formidable undertaking for someone with my ethnic and foreign background in the United States of 1942. In spite of an excellent academic record at Columbia, I was refused admission by the numerous medical schools I applied to and would have found it impossible to study medicine except for the kindness and support of George W. Bakeman, father of a close friend, who was then Assistant to the President of the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. Learning of my difficulties, Mr. Bakeman arranged for me to be interviewed and considered for one of the two remaining places in the Freshman class."
Career
After his medical internship and US Army service (1945–48), and working at the military hospital of Nancy, he became a researcher at Columbia University College of Physicians and SurgeonsColumbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, often known as P&S, is a graduate school of Columbia University that is located on the health sciences campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan...
(1948–50). He performed research in Paris (1950–56), relocated to New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
(1956–68), moved to the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
(1968–70), then joined Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
medical school (1970–91) where he became the Fabyan Professor of comparative Pathology, concurrently serving the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana–Farber Cancer Institute is part of a Comprehensive Cancer Center designated by the National Cancer Institute. It is a major affiliate of Harvard Medical School and is located in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts.-Overview:...
, Boston (1980). He began studies of allergies in 1948, and discovered the Ir (immune response) genes that govern transplant rejection
Transplant rejection
Transplant rejection occurs when transplanted tissue is rejected by the recipient's immune system, which destroys the transplanted tissue. Transplant rejection can be lessened by determining the molecular similitude between donor and recipient and by use of immunosuppressant drugs after...
(1960s). Counting different editions, he is an author of over 300 books and articles
Awards
He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1971.
Rous-Whipple Award of the American Association of Pathologists 1985
National Medal of Science
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 sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and...
1990
Gold-Headed Cane Award of the American Association for Investigative Pathology 1996
Charles A. Dana Award for pioneering achievements in Health and Education 1996
Honorary degrees received
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityVirginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University is a public university located in Richmond, Virginia. It comprises two campuses in the Downtown Richmond area, the product of a merger between the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia in 1968...
1981
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Sciences, New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
1981
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Sciences, Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
1982
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Sciences, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
1985
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Sciences, Adelphi University
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York, United States. It is the oldest institution of higher education on Long Island. For the sixth year, Adelphi University has been named a “Best Buy” in higher education by the Fiske Guide to...
1988
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Weizmann Institute of Sciences 1989
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Sciences, Gustav Adolphus University
Gustavus Adolphus College
Gustavus Adolphus College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in St. Peter, Minnesota, United States. A coeducational, four-year, residential institution, it was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans. To this day the school is firmly...
1992
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Sciences, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
1992
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Sciences, Université de Bordeaux 1993
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Medicine, University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
1995
Later years and death
His autobiography was published in 1998.Benacerraf died on August 2, 2011 in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
of pneumonia. His wife, Annette, predeceased him this same year on June 3.