Henry Kunkel

Henry G. Kunkel ( born September 9, 1916 in Brooklyn, † 15 December 1983) was an American immunologist, get the important discoveries in basic immunology research and contributed significantly to the development of clinical immunology.

Life

Kunkel's father, Louis O. Kunkel was a professor of plant pathology at the Rockefeller University (and Kunkel himself used later botanical hobbies such as iris breeding ). Kunkel grew up in Yonkers (New York) and Princeton. He studied at Princeton University (Bachelor 1938) and Johns Hopkins University Medical School ( MD 1942).

After two years at Bellevue Hospital in New York City in 1944 he was physician in the U.S. Navy and participated in the landings in Italy. He started there for hepatitis diseases to be interested and put this in the context of the U.S. Navy hepatitis research program after the war at the Rockefeller Institute and Hospital ( The Rockefeller University ) in New York City continued ( with Charles L. Hoagland, after his early death he soon became head of the laboratory it ). In 1947 he became Assistant Member, Associate Member in 1949 and a full member in 1952 and remained the rest of his career at The Rockefeller University.

In 1973, he was also an adjunct professor at Cornell University Medical School. 1950/51 he was a visiting scientist in Uppsala in Arne Tiselius.

He discovered that with myeloma associated proteins as models of study of immunoglobulins ( antibodies) could serve what was initially controversial ( for example, by Rodney Porter doubts ). He looked at his laboratory, the chain structure and antigen specificity of antibodies. He was also instrumental in the exploration of the complement system and the B cells, which he studied on the basis of B -cell leukemias.

His research was important that diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus erythematosus has been classified as an autoimmune disease, two diseases that particularly searched his lab. He made ​​use of in particular the art of antinuclear antibodies (ANA). Kunkel found himself early in his career new disease syndromes.

He developed immunological test, and the laboratory procedures (such as the measurement of serum proteins with turbidimetric flocculation with zinc sulfate or the Pevikon block electrophoresis).

Kunkel taught numerous immunologists, including Gerald Edelman and Hans J. Müller -Eberhard.

From 1960 he was editor of the Journal of Experimental Medicine, and he was co-editor of Advances in Immunology.

Awards

In the years 1974/1975 he served as president of the American Association of Immunologists. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and honorary doctorates from the universities of Harvard and Uppsala.

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