Hilary Koprowski dies: A ‘very stubborn’ polio vaccine pioneer and pianist, Hilary Koprowski died after having lived a life as a Polish refugee, a pianist, a composer, and as the scientist who developed the polio vaccine and helped improve the rabies vaccine. Hilary Koprowski’s son Christopher, who is the "chief of radiation oncology at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center at the Christiana Care Health System" in Delaware, said that his father died on Thursday of pneumonia at his home in Wynnewood near Philadelphia, reported Philly.com on April 14, 2013.
"’He was charismatic, brilliant beyond anyone else I have ever met. He was a visionary and he was a great leader and he was also a very controversial character.’ He said people who got in his father's way found ‘he could run over them with a bulldozer and he could be very stubborn’."
According to Hilary Koprowski’s Curriculum Vitae, Hilary Koprowski was born on Dec. 6, 1915. However, many sources are reporting his birthday as Dec. 5, 1916.
Whether in 1915 or in 1916, Hilary Koprowski was born in Warsaw, Poland, into a family of Jewish background. Like Hilary Koprowski’s son Christopher described his father, it was his stubbornness, willpower, and strong character that helped him achieve a degree in music as well as in medicine.
At the age of 12, Hilary Koprowski took piano lessons at the Warsaw Conservatory and he received a music degree from the Warsaw Conservatory and the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome in 1940. Hilary Koprowski was not only a talented pianist but also an accomplished composer of several musical works according to Hilary Koprowski’s biography.
“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.”
In 1939, after having received his degrees, Hilary Koprowski and his wife Irena, also a medical doctor, had to flee from Poland during the Nazi invasion. While Hilary went to Rome, Irena fled to France where their oldest son Claude was born in Paris in 1940. From France, Irene and her son Claude went to Spain. In Portugal, the family was finally reunited again and together they were able to go to Brazil where Hilary Koprowski worked in Rio de Janeiro for the Rockefeller Foundation.
During his scientific work in Brazil, Hilary Koprowski’s field of research focused for several years in trying to find a live-virus vaccine against yellow fever.
After World War II, the family moved to the United States and in 1957, Hilary Koprowski became the Director of The Wistar Institute. “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.”
From 1944 to 1946, Hilary Koprowski was a Research Associate at the Research Lederle Laboratories, American Cyanamid Company, in Pearl River in New York.
From 1946 to 1957, Hilary Koprowski was the Assistant Director of the Research Lederle Laboratories in Pearl River.
From 1957 to 1991, Hilary Koprowski was the Director and Institute Professor at the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology in Philadelphia, Pa.
Hilary Koprowski’s power of determination and stubbornness contributed to being one of the most outstanding scientists of modern times. During the 50 years of his scientific career, Hilary Koprowski’s research became responsible for various clinical advances in human and animal immunology and virology.
In contrast to other researchers, Hilary Koprowski viewed vaccines with live viruses as being much more powerful than vaccines with dead viruses because live viruses could enter the intestinal tract directly and continue to provide lifelong immunity. In contrast to vaccine shots, Hilary Koprowski also believed that oral administration of a vaccine was more cost efficient and readily available since it did not require any medical facility.
On Feb. 27, 1950, Hilary Koprowski administered the first polio vaccine by mouth to a child and within 10 years, the vaccine was used on four continents. Some people, especially in Europe, might remember the delicious polio vaccine sugar cube one used to get at school.
Besides the development of the live oral poliomyelitis vaccine, which was the first such vaccine to be used in mass trials, Hilary 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.”
After 1992, Hilary Koprowski’s positions included being Professor at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pa., being the Director of Center of Neurovirology and Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories at the Thomas Jefferson University, and being a Professor Laureate at the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology in Philadelphia, Pa.
"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."
Trying to list all of Hilary Koprowski’s interests, numerous accomplishments, professional positions, honorary degrees, worldwide awards, or any of his 875 published scientific papers or piano compositions would be the equivalent of trying to capture the stars in the universe.
Hilary Koprowski’s son Christopher summarized his father’s amazing life and essence best with just a few simple words.
"’He was charismatic, brilliant beyond anyone else I have ever met. He was a visionary and he was a great leader and he was also a very controversial character.’ He said people who got in his father's way found ‘he could run over them with a bulldozer and he could be very stubborn’."
"’He was charismatic, brilliant beyond anyone else I have ever met. He was a visionary and he was a great leader and he was also a very controversial character.’ He said people who got in his father's way found ‘he could run over them with a bulldozer and he could be very stubborn’."
According to Hilary Koprowski’s Curriculum Vitae, Hilary Koprowski was born on Dec. 6, 1915. However, many sources are reporting his birthday as Dec. 5, 1916.
Whether in 1915 or in 1916, Hilary Koprowski was born in Warsaw, Poland, into a family of Jewish background. Like Hilary Koprowski’s son Christopher described his father, it was his stubbornness, willpower, and strong character that helped him achieve a degree in music as well as in medicine.
At the age of 12, Hilary Koprowski took piano lessons at the Warsaw Conservatory and he received a music degree from the Warsaw Conservatory and the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome in 1940. Hilary Koprowski was not only a talented pianist but also an accomplished composer of several musical works according to Hilary Koprowski’s biography.
“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.”
In 1939, after having received his degrees, Hilary Koprowski and his wife Irena, also a medical doctor, had to flee from Poland during the Nazi invasion. While Hilary went to Rome, Irena fled to France where their oldest son Claude was born in Paris in 1940. From France, Irene and her son Claude went to Spain. In Portugal, the family was finally reunited again and together they were able to go to Brazil where Hilary Koprowski worked in Rio de Janeiro for the Rockefeller Foundation.
During his scientific work in Brazil, Hilary Koprowski’s field of research focused for several years in trying to find a live-virus vaccine against yellow fever.
After World War II, the family moved to the United States and in 1957, Hilary Koprowski became the Director of The Wistar Institute. “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.”
From 1944 to 1946, Hilary Koprowski was a Research Associate at the Research Lederle Laboratories, American Cyanamid Company, in Pearl River in New York.
From 1946 to 1957, Hilary Koprowski was the Assistant Director of the Research Lederle Laboratories in Pearl River.
From 1957 to 1991, Hilary Koprowski was the Director and Institute Professor at the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology in Philadelphia, Pa.
Hilary Koprowski’s power of determination and stubbornness contributed to being one of the most outstanding scientists of modern times. During the 50 years of his scientific career, Hilary Koprowski’s research became responsible for various clinical advances in human and animal immunology and virology.
In contrast to other researchers, Hilary Koprowski viewed vaccines with live viruses as being much more powerful than vaccines with dead viruses because live viruses could enter the intestinal tract directly and continue to provide lifelong immunity. In contrast to vaccine shots, Hilary Koprowski also believed that oral administration of a vaccine was more cost efficient and readily available since it did not require any medical facility.
On Feb. 27, 1950, Hilary Koprowski administered the first polio vaccine by mouth to a child and within 10 years, the vaccine was used on four continents. Some people, especially in Europe, might remember the delicious polio vaccine sugar cube one used to get at school.
Besides the development of the live oral poliomyelitis vaccine, which was the first such vaccine to be used in mass trials, Hilary 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.”
After 1992, Hilary Koprowski’s positions included being Professor at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pa., being the Director of Center of Neurovirology and Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories at the Thomas Jefferson University, and being a Professor Laureate at the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology in Philadelphia, Pa.
"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."
Trying to list all of Hilary Koprowski’s interests, numerous accomplishments, professional positions, honorary degrees, worldwide awards, or any of his 875 published scientific papers or piano compositions would be the equivalent of trying to capture the stars in the universe.
Hilary Koprowski’s son Christopher summarized his father’s amazing life and essence best with just a few simple words.
"’He was charismatic, brilliant beyond anyone else I have ever met. He was a visionary and he was a great leader and he was also a very controversial character.’ He said people who got in his father's way found ‘he could run over them with a bulldozer and he could be very stubborn’."
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