Pierre Grabar

Pierre Grabar was born in Kiev, Russian Empire, on September 10, 1898. His father was Nicolas (Nikolay S.) Grabar (1852-1924), a lawyer and State Counsellor at the Court of Cassation of St Petersburg. His mother was Baroness Elisabeth de Prittwitz (1866-1924), an artist of German origin. His older brother André Grabar became a prominent professor of ancient Christian and Byzantine archaeology and art. Grabar completed high school in Kiev in 1916. In 1921, Grabar went to France. Grabar received a doctorate from the University of Strasbourg in 1930, after working on uremia and salt deficiency (see below). He also earned a Doctor of Sciences degree from the Sorbonne in 1942, for his work on ultrafiltration and its applications. ==Career==

After working briefly in industry Grabar became chief (chef de laboratoire) of a clinical laboratory at the University of Strasbourg from 1926‑1930. There he began doing medical research on kidney function with professor Leon Blum. Grabar received his doctorate in 1930, having worked on uremia and salt deficiency and published "Azotemie par manque de sel" (Uremia due to salt deficiency). In 1937-1938 Grabar was a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow at Columbia University in New York, USA. There he met the founder of quantitative immunology, Michael Heidelberger and found his vocation for the relatively new science of immunology. In 1954, Grabar was president of the (SFBBM, originally named the Société de Chimie Biologique). In 1966, Pierre Grabar founded the (SFI), serving as its first president from 1966-1969. From 1960 to 1968 Grabar was director of l'Institut de recherches sur le cancer (Cancer Research Institute) of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Villejuif, France where he carried out research on proteins and cancer. In 1969, Grabar returned to the Pasteur Institute, where he was named honorary chief (chef de service honoraire). ==Immuno-electrophoretic analysis==

In 1948, Grabar began to expand on the work of the physico-chemist Arne Tiselius, who won a Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on the electrophoresis of macromolecules. Pierre Grabar spent several years simplifying Tiselius' methodology, modifying his method by introducing antibodies. In 1953 Grabar developed immunoelectrophoresis, combining electrophoresis and immunochemical analysis to create an "immuno-electrophoretic method". They published a brief introductory report in 1953 and a longer exposition in 1955, both in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. Grabar and Williams discussed applications of the technique to the study of serum proteins in three further papers in the Journal of Immunology. These focused on immunological studies of human serum fractions; antiserum types and the distribution of their constituent antibodies; and human γ-globulin. ==Immunological phenomena==

Grabar's research on immunological phenomena led him to have unorthodox views on the role of molecules. Grabar suggested that immune mechanisms could be viewed in terms of transporter functions, part of a normal system for handling metabolic and catabolic substances. This hypothesis was disputed by many of his contemporaries who viewed them as defensive mechanisms. Pierre Grabar fiercely defended his position for many years, confirming his theory through experiments. This idea has since become accepted. ==Selected publications==

• • • • • • • • • ==Awards and honors==

• 1935, Inaugural recipient of the Prix Maurice Nicloux, with R. Guillemet. • 1962, Member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in the Microbiology and Immunologist category • 1963, Canada Gairdner International Award • 1968, Prix Jaffé • 1969, Member, Académie Nationale de Médecine (French National Academy of Medicine) • 1977, Robert Koch Medal • Officier of the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur (French Legion of Honor) == External links ==