Baruch S(amuel) Blumberg

Epidemiologist, born in New York City, New York, USA. He worked and performed research in New York City hospitals (1951–5), then became a biochemist at Oxford University (1955–7). He moved to the National Institutes of Health (1957–64), where he investigated protein variations in human populations from around the world. In 1963 while studying antibodies in the serum of multitransfused blood recipients, he discovered the ‘Australian’ antigen, which proved to be associated with the hepatitis B virus. This finding led to hepatitis B screening programmes by blood banks, and he shared the 1976 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. At the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia (1964) he developed a hepatitis B vaccine (1982) and presented evidence that this disease may lead to liver cancer. While continuing at the Fox Chase Center, he concurrently became a professor at the University of Pennsylvania (1977), clinical professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington, Seattle (1983–9), and Master at Balliol College, Oxford (1989–94).

He then entered the graduate program in mathematics at Columbia University but his interests turned to medicine and he enrolled at Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons, from which he received his M.D.

He has been a member of the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia since 1964 and has held the rank of University Professor of Medicine and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania since 1977. From 1999 to 2002, he was also director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute at the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California.

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Laureates (1976-2000)

1976: Blumberg, Gajdusek | 1977: Guillemin, Schally, Yalow | 1978: Arber, Nathans, Smith | 1979: Cormack, Hounsfield | 1980: Benacerraf, Dausset, Snell | 1981: Sperry, Hubel, Wiesel | 1982: Bergström, Samuelsson, Vane | 1983: McClintock | 1984: Jerne, Köhler, Milstein | 1985: Brown, Goldstein | 1986: Cohen, Levi-Montalcini | 1987: Tonegawa | 1988: Black, Elion, Hitchings | 1989: Bishop, Varmus | 1990: Murray, Thomas | 1991: Neher, Sakmann | 1992: Fischer, Krebs | 1993: Roberts, Sharp | 1994: Gilman, Rodbell | 1995: Lewis, Nüsslein-Volhard, Wieschaus | 1996: Doherty, Zinkernagel | 1997: Prusiner | 1998: Furchgott, Ignarro, Murad | 1999: Blobel | 2000: Carlsson, Greengard, Kandel Complete List | Laureates (1901-1925) | Laureates (1926-1950) | Laureates (1951-1975) |