Emil von Behring

Emil von Behring
Name	Emil von Behring
Caption	Emil von Behring, c. 1905
Birth date	15 March 1854
Birth place	Hansdorf, Prussia
Death date	31 March 1917
Death place	Marburg, German Empire
Nationality	German
Fields	Immunology, Physiology
Workplaces	University of Marburg, Institute for Infectious Diseases
Alma mater	Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität
Known for	Diphtheria antitoxin, Tetanus antitoxin, Serum therapy
Prizes	Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1901)

Emil von Behring was a pioneering German physiologist who is celebrated as a founder of the field of immunology. His groundbreaking work in developing a serum therapy for diphtheria and tetanus represented the first successful application of passive immunization and saved countless lives. For this achievement, he was awarded the first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1901. His research laid essential foundations for modern infectious disease treatment and the development of antitoxins.

Early life and education

Emil Adolf Behring was born in Hansdorf, then part of the Province of Prussia, into a large family with modest means. To pursue a medical education, he entered the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Akademie for military doctors in Berlin, which required a subsequent period of service in the Prussian Army. He completed his medical studies at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Berlin, earning his doctorate in 1878. His early career was spent as a military surgeon, with postings in Posen and Bonn, before his scientific interests led him to pursue pharmacological research.

Medical career and research

In 1889, Behring joined the laboratory of the renowned bacteriologist Robert Koch at the Institute for Infectious Diseases in Berlin. Working alongside other future luminaries like Paul Ehrlich and Shibasaburo Kitasato, Behring began investigating the body's immune responses to bacterial toxins. His early experiments, often conducted with Kitasato, focused on the blood serum of animals that had survived infection. They discovered that this serum contained neutralizing substances, which Behring termed "antitoxins," that could confer temporary immunity to other animals. This period of intense collaboration was crucial in shifting medical thought from purely bactericidal approaches to therapeutic immunological strategies.

Development of diphtheria antitoxin

Behring's most famous work culminated in 1890 with the publication of a seminal paper with Kitasato on immunity against tetanus and diphtheria. He soon concentrated on diphtheria, a leading cause of childhood mortality. By immunizing animals like guinea pigs and horses with attenuated diphtheria toxin, he harvested serum rich in antitoxins. The first successful treatment of a human patient, a child in Berlin, occurred on Christmas night 1891. The large-scale production of this diphtheria antitoxin, a process greatly advanced by Paul Ehrlich's work on standardization, transformed a deadly disease into a treatable condition and ushered in the era of serum therapy.

Nobel Prize and later work

In recognition of his work on serum therapy, Emil von Behring was awarded the inaugural Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1901. With the prize money and financial support from the chemical industry, he pursued a new goal: creating an active vaccine using a toxin-antitoxin mixture. In 1913, he introduced a diphtheria vaccine based on a neutralized toxoid, a critical step in preventive medicine. In 1895, he had become a professor of Hygiene at the University of Marburg, where he dedicated himself to research and established a private laboratory for serum production.

Personal life and death

In 1896, Behring married the daughter of the director of the Charité hospital, with whom he had six children. He was ennobled in 1901, adding "von" to his name. He used his commercial success from serum patents to build a large estate, Behringwerke, in Marburg. His later years were plagued by chronic illness. Emil von Behring died of pneumonia in Marburg on 31 March 1917 and was buried in a mausoleum at the Elisabethkirche.

Legacy and honors

Emil von Behring's legacy is profound; he is forever remembered as the "saviour of children" for conquering diphtheria. The company he founded, Behringwerke, eventually became part of the pharmaceutical giant CSL Behring. Numerous institutions bear his name, including the Behring Institute in Marburg and the Emil von Behring Prize of the University of Marburg. His portrait was featured on German banknotes, and a crater on the Moon is named in his honor. His work established the fundamental principle of passive immunity and directly paved the way for future advances in vaccinology and immunotherapy.

Category:German immunologists Category:Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine Category:1854 births Category:1917 deaths