Irving Millman

Irving Millman (May 23, 1923 – April 17, 2012) was a noted virologist and microbiologist. He was a member of the U.S. Army's Eighth Armored Division during the Second World War, earning a Bronze Star. In 1948, Millman earned a bachelor's degree from the City College of New York. He did his graduate work at the University of Kentucky and Northwestern University's School of Medicine.

Millman's work with Baruch Blumberg helped lead to the creation of a test to detect hepatitis B. The test allowed blood banks to identify the hepatitis B virus in the blood of potential donors, thereby preventing the spread of the virus.

Later research by the team led to a vaccine that is now commonly given to neonates (newborns). Millman and Blumberg found that the blood of individuals who carried the hepatitis B virus contained particles of the outside coating of the virus. The coating, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), is not infectious; however, HBsAG can provoke an immune response. In order to develop a vaccine, Millman and Blumberg developed a method of detaching the coatings from the virus. He was Jewish.

References

  1. 1 2 Donald G. McNeil, Jr., April 26, 2012, Irving Millman Dies at 88; Worked to Stop Hepatitis B Archived 2025-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times.
  2. ↑ His Hepatitis B Vaccine Saves Over 6 Million Lives Archived 2013-06-06 at the Wayback Machine Accessed August 18, 2013
  3. ↑ Emily Langer (2012-04-25). "Microbiologist Irving Millman, 88, helped develop hepatitis B vaccine". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409. Archived from the original on 2024-07-27. Retrieved 2021-08-25.