 |
 | | |  | | Hilary Koprowski |
| | | Dr. Hilary Koprowski, born in Warsaw, Poland, was faced with a choice between a career in music or in science. He graduated with a major in piano from the Warsaw Conservatory but turned to medicine, obtained his M.D. degree in Warsaw in 1939, and adopted scientific research as his life’s work. His musical studies were continued in Rome, where he graduated from the Santa Cecilia Academy in 1940. Soon he moved to the United States where he became Director of The Wistar Institute in 1957. There, he brought to life a venerable but decaying institution and made of it a leading research center for the investigation of cancer and viral diseases, and built up a staff of top biologists from all parts of the world.
Dr. Koprowski, during the 45 years of his scientific career, has become one of the outstanding scientists of our time. He has been awarded memberships in many learned societies, such as the National Academy of Sciences, as well as being the recipient of many honors, including the Légion d’ Honneur, the Philadelphia Award and the Scott Award. He has made numerous basic research contributions which have included the development of a live oral poliomyelitis vaccine and a new rabies vaccine that is more effective and less painful than the traditional Pasteur vaccine. In addition, Dr. Koprowski pioneered the development and use of monoclonal antibodies for the detection and treatment of’ gastrointestinal cancer.
It is only now, following great success and notoriety in his career as a scientist, that Dr. Koprowski has allowed himself the time to pursue his musical interests which have always meant so much to him. In 1995, Dr. Koprowski began studying musical composition via the styles of such great composers as Bach, Brahms and Schubert and, since then, has progressed to studying the more contemporary styles of Schönberg and Messaien. It is in this contemporary mode of composition that Dr. Koprowski has truly found his niche and enjoys producing works in this genre. |
|
