Peter Alfred Gorer

Peter Alfred Gorer
Born	14 April 1907 London, England
Died	1961 (aged 54)
Education	Charterhouse School, Guy's Hospital, University College London
Known for	Co-discovery of histocompatibility antigens and their genetic regulation
Awards	Fellow of the Royal Society (1960), Cancer Research Institute William B. Coley Award (1975)
Scientific career
Fields	Immunology, Pathology, Genetics
Institutions	Guy's Hospital, University College London, Lister Institute

Peter Alfred Gorer FRS^[1] (14 April 1907 in London – 1961) was a British immunologist, pathologist and geneticist who pioneered the field of transplant immunology.

Peter Gorer was born in London to Edgar (drowned in the 1915 sinking of RMS Lusitania) and Rachel née Cohen Gorer.^[1] He died of lung cancer in 1961.

Education and work institutions

He was educated at Charterhouse. He graduated from Guy's Hospital, London in 1929 and then studied genetics under J.B.S. Haldane at University College, London.^[2] From 1933 to 1940 Gorer worked at the Lister Institute before returning to Guy's Hospital to work as a pathologist.

Research

Gorer is credited with the co-discovery of histocompatibility antigens and the elucidation of their genetic regulation. Together with George Snell, he helped discover the murine histocompatibility 2 locus, or H-2, which is analogous to the human leukocyte antigen.^[3][4] Gorer also identified antigen II and determined its role in transplant tissue rejection.^[3][4]

Awards

• Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1960.^[1]
• 1975 Cancer Research Institute William B. Coley Award

See also

• C.C. Little
• Major histocompatibility complex

References

1. Medawar, P. B. (1961). "Peter Alfred Gorer. 1907-1961". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 7: 95–109. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1961.0008. S2CID 71157785.
2. "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33475. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
3. Cruse, J.M.; R.E. Lewis (2002). Illustrated Dictionary of Immunology. London: CRC Press. p. 259. ISBN 0-8493-1935-8.
4. Tauber, A.I.; S.H. Podolsky (2000). The Generation of Diversity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. pp. 32–33. ISBN 0-674-00182-6.