About Dr. Koprowski:
Born in Warsaw, Poland, Dr. Hilary Koprowski was interested in both music and science, and has excelled in both arenas. He initially received a degree in piano from the Warsaw Conservatory, and then a M.D. degree in 1939 from the University of Warsaw. Dr. Koprowski then began to dedicate himself to conducting scientific research, although he continued to study music. He graduated from the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome in 1940, and then went to Brazil. Soon he moved to the United States where he eventually became the Director of The Wistar Institute in 1957. There he revived a venerable, but decaying institution and made it a leading research center for the investigation of cancer and viral diseases. He also recruited top biologists from literally all parts of the world.
Dr. Koprowski is one of the outstanding scientists of our time. His research is responsible for a variety of remarkable clinical advances in human and animal immunology & virology during his 50 year scientific career.
Among Dr. Koprowski's most notable achievements have been the development of a live oral poliomyelitis vaccine, which was the first such vaccine to be used in mass trials. Dr. Koprowski, along with his co-workers, also engineered a more effective and less painful rabies vaccine than the traditional Pasteur technique. In addition, Dr. Koprowski has been a pioneer in the development of monoclonal antibodies (Mabs), which are used to detect cancer antigens and in cancer immunotherapy.
Dr. Koprowski is the author of more than 850 scientific papers and is a member of many prestigious societies. He has also received honorary degrees from numerous universities, and is the recipient of many honors, including the Philadelphia Award, the Scott Award, and the French Legion of Honor. Dr. Koprowski is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Currently, he is the Director of the Institute of Biotechnology and Advanced Molecular Medicine, as well as the Center for Neurovirology at Thomas Jefferson University.
In addition to his scientific and musical interests, the latter of which includes a serious devotion to musical composition, Hilary Koprowski is a linguist and a student of world literature who appreciates such diverse writers as Arthur Rimbaud, Ezra Pound, Marcel Proust, John Ford, Pietro Arentino, and H.L. Mencken.
