Gerald Edelman (1 July 1929 – 17 May 2014) was a renowned American biologist and immunologist. He dedicated his life to the study of the immune system and the brain, making significant contributions to both fields of study. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1972.
Life and Career
He was born on 1 July 1929 in New York City. He attended local schools before enrolling in the Bronx High School of Science, a prestigious public high school that specialized in science and mathematics.
After completing high school in 1947, Edelman attended Ursinus College, a small liberal arts college in Pennsylvania. There, he studied chemistry and philosophy and developed an interest in biology. After completing his undergraduate degree in 1950, he enrolled in the medical program at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his MD degree in 1954.
After completing his medical degree, he began his career as a researcher at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. He worked in the laboratory of George Hirst, where he studied the immune system and developed a technique for studying antibodies that would later earn him a Nobel Prize.
In the early 1960s, Edelman moved to Rockefeller University in New York City, where he established his own laboratory. There, he continued his work on the immune system and made a ground-breaking discovery about the structure of antibodies. He found that antibodies are made up of two different protein chains, which he called light and heavy chains. This discovery was revolutionary because it challenged the prevailing view that antibodies were homogeneous proteins.
He continued his work at Rockefeller University, where he began to study the brain. He became interested in how the brain is able to recognize and respond to different stimuli, such as light and sound. He developed a theory called neural Darwinism, which proposed that the brain is constantly changing and adapting in response to stimuli.
In addition to his scientific work, he was a passionate advocate for science education and public understanding of science. He wrote several books aimed at a popular audience, including “Bright Air, Brilliant Fire,” which explores the relationship between science and art.
He died on 17 May 2014 in La Jolla, California.
Award and Legacy
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1972, which he shared with Rodney Porter, for his work on the structure of antibodies.
In addition to his Nobel Prize, Edelman received many other awards and honors throughout his career. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1974 and was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1979. He also received the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award in 1978 and the Wolf Prize in Medicine in 1981.
His legacy lives on through the many scientists he inspired and the ground-breaking work he did in the fields of immunology and neuroscience.