Manfred M. Mayer
Manfred Martin Mayer(15 June 1916,Frankfurt am Main– 18 September 1984,Baltimore) was a German-born, American microbiologist and immunologist. He is considered the founder ofcomplementresearch.[1][2]
Biography[edit]
Manfred M. Mayer attended elementary school and secondary school in Germany. Mayer's family fled to the United States in December 1933 because ofpolitical events.He graduated fromCity College of New Yorkin 1938 with a bachelor's degree and fromColumbia Universityin 1946 with a PhD under the supervisionMichael Heidelbergerwith a dissertation on the chemistry and immunology ofphosphorylatedserum albumin.Mayer published several papers onprecipitinreactions and thecross-reactivityof variouspolysaccharidesin the envelope ofStreptococcus pneumoniae.Mayer, withElvin A. Kabat,published the textbookExperimental Immunochemistry,which between 1948 and 1984 had two editions and seven reprints.[1]
At Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Mayer became in 1946 an assistant professor, in 1948 an associate professor, and 1960 a full professor. At Johns Hopkins University, he elucidated the sequence of 18enzymereactions of thecomplement system,demonstratedcalciumandmagnesiumas cofactors of the complement system, and described howlysisis accomplished by the complement system, which inserts a pore into the cell wall of the target cell. Further work by Mayer concernedmalariaand the purification ofpoliovirus.Robert Armstrong Nelson and Mayer developed the eponymous Nelson-Mayer test, which enables diagnosis of syphilis based on the demonstration of immobilizing antibodies that occur in the patient's serum. The test greatly reducesfalse-positivediagnoses of syphilis.[3]Nelson and Mayer also developed Nelson-Mayer basalmediumfor growingTreponema pallidumbacteria in vitro.[4]
He and his wife Elinor S. Mayer (1921–2007) were married in 1943 and had four sons. Manfred Mayer's students includeTeruko Ishizaka.[1]
Awards and honors[edit]
- 1953 — Kimble Award for Methodology
- 1957 — Selman Waksman Lectureship Award
- 1969 — Honorary Doctor of Medical Science, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
- 1974 —Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award,American Association of Blood Banks
- 1976 — Albion O. Bernstein Award, Medical Society of the State of New York
- 1976/1977 — President of theAmerican Association of Immunologists
- 1979 — Member of the United States National Academy of Sciences
- 1982 —Gairdner Foundation International Award,Toronto, Canada
References[edit]
- ^abcAusten, K. Frank (1990)."Manfred Martin Mayer: June 15, 1916-September 18, 1984".Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences.59:257–280.PMID11616159.
- ^Rabat EA (January 1985)."Obituary: Manfred Martin Mayer June 15, 1916–September 18, 1984".J Immunol.134(1): 654–656.doi:10.4049/jimmunol.134.1.654.ISSN0022-1767.PMID3880578.S2CID23539793.(subscription required)
- ^Nelson, Robert A.; Mayer, Manfred M. (1949)."Immobilization ofTreponema pallidumin vitro by antibody produced in syphilitic infection ".Journal of Experimental Medicine.89(4): 369–393.doi:10.1084/jem.89.4.369.PMC2135874.PMID18113911.
- ^Manfred Martin Mayerat whonamedit
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